XMen: Aftermath
by The Sangheili Mutant
Summary: Sequel to Hell on Earth. Please read that story first if you haven't read it yet. You'll understand this story much more. Takes place immediately after Hell on Earth, with some flashbacks. The war is not over yet, and the stakes have never been higher as events unravel.
1. Chapter 1: Tears of Blood

**A/N**: Enjoy the sequel to my Hell on Earth story! And remember, thoughts and flashbacks are italicized.

**Disclaimer**: Just like in my previous story, I do not own any characters except for Hugh, Sparky, and Craig. The Monitors are my characters too.

Chapter 1: Tears of Blood

(Sparky)

"Craig! You don't want her! This isn't you, man!" the cocky hothead he recently learned was named Pyro yelled. The cheetah turned towards Pyro and the battle seemingly stopped to watch the showdown. Sparky looked around for the real Multiple Man Monitor. He wasn't sure how he could tell the ones around him were copies, but he could. Something in his gut recognized the original Monitor he was after when his gaze rested upon a Monitor on the outskirts of the battle.

"I'm sorry you had to go through this torture, Mult." Sparky said, electrocuting the Monitor that was at one point in time a mutant he had formed a friendship with. As he knelt down by the Monitor's corpse, he heard the girl he learned was named 'Rogue' call out the name 'John'. He wasn't sure who John was; he only knew the mutant names of some of the other captives that were with him in the holding cell of the damned base. He heard more yelling and his vision got blurry. He blinked the sensation away rapidly, and felt something wet and warm slide down his cheek.

A tear? The last time Sparky had cried, he was only ten. He was saying goodbye to his father, the only human in the world he truly cared about.

His mother killed herself when Sparky was seven. Cut her wrists in some sleazy hotel room. For the next two and a half years, his father raised him. He felt his life was returning to normal…yeah, right. Five months later his dad's mental health deteriorated and he was taken away to some whack-job hospital.

Sparky was shaken from his memory when he noticed three drops of blood on the ground. He touched his face lightly where the tears slid down his cheeks, and the tips of his fingers came back red.

'_Oh shit_.' he thought, spinning around. He bumped into someone and muttered some half-hearted apology.

"Sorry? Sorry doesn't seem to do me much good, Sparky." The man said.

'_That voice_…' he thought, face twisting in confusion and fear. "…Mult?" he asked, looking back at the Monitor, then to the man before him.

"Yeah, Sparky, it's me." Multiple Man said, and turned to face him.

"Holy shit…What did they do to you?" Sparky asked, examining the scars, burns, and bruises covering his flesh.

"They? They didn't do this to me. You did." Multiple Man said, and faded away. Blood started to trickle out his nose and more continued to flow through his eye sockets. Once he started to cough up blood, he started freaking out. He saw other mutants in clusters of two's or three's gather around those who were dropping like flies. Some were bleeding, like him, and others were convulsing. He had a coughing fit and watched in horror as the flecks of blood on the ground became a translucent splotch of various shades of red. He uselessly clutched his aching chest when the forest around him became some sort of hospital.

He was lifted up and put into a bed. His vision was getting dark and hazy, but he could see a line of beds to his left, each one getting occupied by a bleeding, twitching, or unconscious mutant.

'_What the hell did that bastard do to us?_' Sparky thought, wincing as another coughing fit came and went. He looked away from the chaos to his left and saw Multiple Man leaning against the corner of the wall.

"I didn't ask for this. I didn't ask to become some sick, deranged psycho's experiment. I didn't ask to be what I was. But most importantly, Sparky, I didn't ask to be killed by you." Multiple Man said, suddenly flickering into view a mere inches before the bed. Someone turned Sparky's head and shined a light into both of his eyes, one at a time.

"We're going to help you. You're going to be fine." whoever temporarily burned his retinas said. He looked over to his right and Multiple Man was still there, leaning so close that Sparky could smell the burnt flesh. He grabbed the arm of whoever was standing by the bed, possibly the one who temporarily blinded him. "You gotta give me something. Please! Put me under and make him _go away_!" he pleaded. A syringe was produced and the needle pierced his skin. Seconds later, he felt calm and his eyelids grew heavier and heavier until he fell asleep.

When he awoke, he noticed that most of the bed-ridden mutants were unconscious, some with various kinds of medical apparatus equipped to them.

"Sparky, can you hear me?" a concerned voice asked. He looked to his right and saw Magneto sitting in a chair beside the bed.

"Magneto?" he asked, coughing weakly.

"Who were you expecting?" Magneto asked.

"No one." Sparky said, glancing towards the corner he saw Multiple Man by earlier.

"Why are you here? Shouldn't you be at that Monitor-making factory?" he asked.

"The base is gone, destroyed. And I'm here because you're one of my Brothers. I hold you in high esteem. You remind me of one of my former colleagues, your attitudes are practically identical." Magneto said. Sparky wasn't sure how to react.

"Can you tell me what happened when your group was captured?" Magneto asked.

"Ya-awn! This isn't getting anywhere." Multiple Man said, materializing behind Magneto.

'_Damn_.' Sparky thought. "We were all injected with something. I don't know what it was." He told his leader.

"Did he say anything about it?" Magneto asked.

"Just that it would kill us at any given time." Sparky said.

"And yet you all fought valiantly." Magneto said.

"Yeah, you fought valiantly, but that doesn't mean _shit_, right Mags?" Multiple Man asked.

"What are you talking about?" Sparky asked.

"I don't-" Magneto started.

"Not you, Boss." Sparky said.

"Sparky…who are you talking to?" Magneto asked.

"Multiple Man. He's right behind you." Sparky said. The wrinkles of concern vanished from Magneto's face.

"See, Sparky, what you don't realize here is that Magneto views himself as a demi-god. He may say you're 'one of a kind' or that you've got 'special talents', but he cares only for himself." Multiple Man said, resting his head on Magneto's shoulder. Sparky searched Magneto's face for a reaction, but found no indication of such.

"Mags here will inflate your ego, make you believe you're doing the right thing. Then one day, he'll send you on some kamikaze mission. Maybe it'll be another war. Maybe he'll use you as a decoy like he did with me. I thought everything was going to turn out alright on Alcatraz when I was arrested. I foolishly believed in the Brotherhood." Multiple Man said, starting to laugh as he circled the bed.

"Stay strong, Sparky." Magneto said, patted his leg, and left.

"See? He doesn't care. Not about me, not about you. He'll use you like he used me and who knows how many others." Multiple Man said.

"Not true." Sparky said

"That's what you think now, but when you and those three, well, now its two unlucky brothers over there die, and Magneto never lifted a finger to help you, you'll know I was right." Multiple Man said.

"You're lying." Sparky said, hating how childish he sounded.

"You see Pyro in that bed waaay down there?" Multiple Man asked. Sparky looked over to the second-to-last bed.

"He was Magneto's right-hand man when I was with the Brotherhood. He fought in Alcatraz. Did Magneto even glance in his direction? No, because he doesn't _care_. If he doesn't give a damn about the kid who fought at his side in one of the most notorious wars in mutant history, what makes you think he'll give a damn about you?" Multiple Man asked, vanishing to leave Sparky in the silence.


	2. Chapter 2: Brink of Death

Chapter 2: The brink of death

(Moira)

"2, 3, clear!" _bip, bip, beeeeep_

"1, 2, 3, clear!" _bip, bip, bip, bip_

"She's stable. We're continuing with the procedure."

"Are you sure that's wise, Doctor Stabnas?"

"Yes, yes. Where's the new heart?"

"Right here, sir."

"Inject the potassium chloride into her heart."

"Injecting."

_Beeeeeeeeeeep_

"Suture the great vessels."

"Alright, I'm removing the heart."

"We need to work fast, doctor."

"Give me the new heart…Okay, let's restart the heart and wean her off cardiopulmonary bypass."

"Clear!" _bip, bip, bip, bip, bip_

"Alright, good job, people! Let's stitch her up and put her in ICU for observation."

When she regained consciousness, she saw Charles.

"Charles?" she asked, her voice quiet and hoarse.

"Moira." Charles smiled.

"What are you doing here?" she asked.

"I need you to rest. Build up your strength. When you are well enough, we need you to come to the school." he said. Someone came into the room, drawing Moira's attention. She looked back to Charles, but he was gone.

"Hello, Ms. MacTaggert. How are you feeling?" a doctor asked.

"A little weak, but… can you tell me what happened?" she asked.

"You just went through a cardiac transplant." The doctor said.

"Heart transplant?" she asked.

"Yes. We lost you a couple times, but we acted quickly. We've been giving you an immunosuppressant the past couple days, and as you well know, you need to stay here for a week for observation." He said, smiling cheerfully.

"Why… why did I need a heart transplant?" she asked.

The cheerful smile vanished, now becoming a look of concern. "You don't remember?"

She shook her head.

"Do you know what month it is?" he asked.

"June." she said.

"And the date?" he asked.

"The last day I remember is… the thirteenth." she replied.

"You underwent emergency surgery, and then were put into a medically induced coma while we waited for a fresh heart to arrive. Once you were put on life support, we started to fear for the worst. However, three days after life support was administered, we received a viable heart and performed the surgery. The bottom line is: today is June twentieth." he said.

"Oh, God…" she whispered. The doctor gently squeezed her shoulder reassuringly.

"Why did I have to go through all this?" she asked. He paused, as if considering the implications and ramifications of telling her the truth.

"You were shot. Three times in the heart."

She suddenly remembered the man who shot her. He was looking for Charles, and something about his demeanor gave her chills and sent off warning flags in her mind.

"I remember him. The man who shot me, his name was Hugh, Hugh Jerection. He was looking for a friend of mine." she said.

"Doctor MacTaggert, you need to calm down." he said, glancing at the heart monitor as the frequency between beeps increased.

"No, I-I, I have to go." she said, removing her IV as she sat up.

"I would advise against this course of action." He said.

"Which immunosuppressant have you put me on?" she asked.

"Ciclosporin. Gelatin capsules." he said. She stood and saw her personal belongings on a chair. She put on her petticoat and emptied out her purse.

"Fill this with as many bottles of Ciclosporin as you can." she said and tossed him the empty purse. "When I leave, you can tell my superior that I'm taking a leave of absence." She said, putting on her shoes.

"This is a bad idea." he said as he headed to the door.

"And if you tell anyone about this, I'll have your license revoked. You won't even be able to get a janitorial job at a hospital. Do we understand each other?" she asked.

"Yes, ma'am." he said, and left. He returned a couple minutes later, purse full of prescription bottles.

"You can take the cost of these out of my salary." she said, not even glancing back as she left the hospital.

(Hugh)

As he was being burned alive, screaming in pain, the only thought that formed in his head was that this fire-throwing puissant would be dead soon. The searing pain suddenly vanished and Hugh passed out. When he regained consciousness, he was in the most intense agony he had ever been in. He realized he was still in the forest, lying on the ground. He heard people yelling, and slowly got to his feet, moaning in pain, but trying to keep quiet.

'_Have to keep moving_.' The thought kept repeating over and over in his mind. Inch by inch, and step by step, he reached a field…farmland. He recognized the farmhouse on the hill; it was the old McKeed house, nothing but an empty, dusty shack now.

'_That means_…' He looked to the north-east and saw the broken remains of the dam right next to his base. Hugh painfully laughed, shocked at the stupidity of the mutant teleporter that transported them less than a mile from his base. As he limped towards the invisible line dividing his land, and what used to be the McKeed's, his base exploded.

Once the shrill ringing subsided to a low hum, he continued towards his base. It was gone, yes, but he wanted to know how many vermin were killed and how many of his creations survived. His scarred and blistered body screamed at every step, but Hugh was not only stubborn at times, he could be very determined and goal-oriented. And right now, his goal was to reach his base, his home.

He walked past trees and shrubs, he walked over patches of leaves and grass and dirt, he even stepped over dead bodies; both employees and mutants. He side-stepped burning rubble and chunks of machinery before spotting movement at the base. He quickly moved behind a tree, nearly giving away his position as he held back a yelp when his raw, burned flesh gingerly rubbed against the sandpaper bark.

He watched in disgust as the mutants left the burning lab in their fancy jet. He looked away as the jet disappeared behind the mountains. Three Monitors emerged from the remains of his base and chased after the jet, missiles firing.

"The only Monitors to survive the explosion were the shield generators and some telekinetics and pyrokinetics." Trask's voice came from his right. Hugh turned and felt a pang of dislike towards Trask as he cringed upon seeing the burns.

"Oh my God! What the hell happened?" Trask asked.

"I _really_ don't want to talk about it, Trask." Hugh snarled.

"We should get you to a hospital." Trask said.

"I'll be taken care of at my second base." Hugh said, swatting away a lonely leaf on a branch.

"Your second base? You never told me you had another base." Trask said.

"It was a need-to-know basis. And you didn't need to know." Hugh said. The two awkwardly stood in the middle of the blast zone for a minute.

"Well, we lost all of our money when-"

"Remember when I told you that money wasn't everything? It still stands." Hugh interrupted.

"Right…of course…my mistake." Trask said, taking out his cell phone.

"It still works?" Hugh asked, limping forward.

"Yeah." Trask replied.

"Give it to me. I need to make a call." Hugh said. Trask did as he was told, and Hugh punched in some numbers, waiting for the ringing to stop so he could talk to his second in command, Troy, at the other base.

"Base One has been destroyed."

"_Mutants_?"

"What else could it have been?"

"_Right. My apologies, sir_."

"Trask and I need a lift to Base Two."

"_Any Monitors of yours survive_?"

A few. You'll need to call them over."

"_Right away. A helicopter will be there in five minutes, sir_."

"I'm going to require medical attention, so prep the O.R."

"_Of course, sir_."

"Oh, and Troy? One more thing."

"_Sir_?"

"Initiate _Operation Dark Days_."

"_Right away_."

Hugh hung up and gave the phone back to Trask.

"_Dark Days_? What the hell is that?" Trask asked.

"A larger scale attack." Hugh replied.

"Larger? You mean nationwide?" Trask asked.

"No, no, no, much larger than that. I'm talking worldwide." Hugh said, smirking.


	3. Chapter 3: To Hell and Back

Chapter 3: To Hell and Back

(Hank)

He was the leader of his little squad during the raid of Hugh's base. Even though the other members of his team were all allied with Magneto, he still felt a little pang of sadness when they all died. He still wasn't at all sure of how he managed to survive the Monitor attack on his group.

His teammates' abilities included hydrokinesis, force field generation, invisibility, and levitation.

When only two Monitors appeared to stop his team, he almost felt like laughing. Almost, but he knew that only one of them could do a great deal of damage. For a split-second, he thought of Jean. She was _one_ mutant. Without even blinking, she disintegrated dozens of mutants and soldiers into nothing. But it wasn't her; not really.

"Let's get these fuckers!" one of Hank's teammates yelled, turning invisible. The Monitor to Hank's left looked over to where the mutant had turned invisible and a tentacle-like appendage sprang out from each of its wrists. The tentacles latched onto the invisible mutant, spattering the wall with blood. The four remaining mutants watched in shock as the invisible mutant flickered into visibility, one tentacle piercing his throat, the other piercing his right shoulder. The mutant twitched and drooled blood, staring in shock. The tentacles retracted and Hank spotted three claws flexing at the ends of each one.

Before the mutant's corpse hit the ground, the two Monitors launched an arsenal of different attacks. The levitator's head was sliced in half, blood jetting out everywhere. Three Missiles and a wave of fire were speeding towards the group. Both threats were taken care of as a large force field spanned the length of the hall, completely blocking off the mutants from the Monitors. The missiles exploded upon impact, and the fire's advancement was stopped. The force field soon evaporated and the Monitor's rushed forward, tentacles and blades whipping around the area. The hydrokinetic put out the fire and the three mutants readied themselves.

The two Brotherhood mutants ganged up on the bladed Monitor, leaving the tentacle one for Hank. He braced himself as two tentacles raced towards him, then dodged them at the last second, and gripped them with both hands. The tentacles wriggled in his grip, and he bit down on them, biting all the way through. A black, watery substance splashed onto his face and he grimaces slightly. The tentacles quickly withdrew, flailing wildly. Hank took the opportunity and jumped, flipped in midair, and latched onto the Monitor's back. Acting before his enemy could do anything, he dug his claws into a soft spot on its neck.

The Monitor stiffened, then started bucking like an angry bull. Hank was thrown off and the Monitor aimed a wrist-bracelet weapon at him. Hank stood to try to find cover and the Monitor froze. As he looked over at his still-fighting teammates, his Monitor exploded, sending cure darts in a hundred directions. He reflexively shielded his face, expecting to be stuck with a dozen cure needles. When he felt no needle pricks, he lowered his arm. His mouth opened in shock as he saw the two mutants, and the Monitor they were fighting, dead on the ground.

He wandered the halls, never running into a single Monitor. He reached a door and was about to open it, but the building suddenly vibrated.

"Hank!" a voice called. He turned around and saw Storm's group.

"Scott, Gambit, and Kurt are at the boiler room! They're about to blow it up! Come on, we've got to move!" she yelled. Hank caught up to the group as Storm issued a warning over her walkie talkie. The group managed to get outside and waited a safe distance from the building. They spotted several groups escaping the base, heading for the forest or any other areas of safe distance. The trio that stayed behind to blow up the building appeared at the door, quickly taking cover as the base exploded.

As Hank groggily stood up, he noticed several bodies on the ground, some getting up slowly…some breathing, unconscious…some dead. The X-Jet decloaked and many mutants entered the small sanctuary. Some others help gather the unconscious, wounded, and dead. After triple-checking for the three missing groups, Storm reluctantly sat next to Scott and they started to pilot the jet back to the school, feeling a little at ease since the war was now over. A little over halfway there, Monitors appeared behind the jet, giving chase.

"Stragglers!" someone warned.

"There's three of them! How did they survive the explosion?" Storm asked.

"What if this means our plan didn't work?" someone asked.

"While I can't say for certain how many of the Monitors might have survived the explosion, I can tell you that the base is nothing more than a crater in the ground. A mere handful could very well have survived, but there is not a doubt in my mind that any more survived a blast of that magnitude." Magneto said, trying to calm the others. He raised a hand, and a loud metal-on-metal 'clunk' was heard. The three dots on the jet's radar disappeared.

Hank glanced at his comrades, noticing the numerous contusions, broken limbs, and various other war wounds.

'_Well, the med bay is going to be packed for a while_.' he thought.

By the time they finally arrived at the school, several mutants were actually asleep! However, as the jet was jostled by the exodus of passengers, those who were sleeping were awoken.

"Logan's group is here." Xavier said, puzzled.

"Oh my God." Storm breathed, relieved.

"And so are the others, but…something's wrong." he added. With that said, everyone hurried to the med bay to the best of their abilities due to injury. When they arrived at the door, Storm, Scott, Magneto, Xavier, and Hank were the first inside. There were ten mutants in ten beds. Blood was smeared and pooled everywhere, and Wolverine and his group were scrambling to comfort the incapacitated squads. Hank rushed in to help, as he had served as the X-Men's medical doctor for years with Jean. He approached one of the beds on his far left, one of Magneto's Brotherhood. In many ways, the gold-eyed loyalist of Magneto reminded him of Pyro, who was in the bed farthest to the right.

Seeing the lad bleeding from nearly every facial orifice, head turned away with squeezed-shut eyes, gripping the sheets hard enough that his fingers started turning white, Hank felt pity for him. He checked the patient's eyes with a flashlight and found that his pupils constricted normally. Good news.

"We're going to help you. You're going to be fine." He said, turning to grab a stethoscope. A hand grabbed his arm and he turned back to his current patient.

"You gotta give me something. Please! Put me under and make him go away!" he said, desperately looking into his eyes. Hank opened a drawer and took out a short-term sedative, injecting it intravenously. Seconds later, the golden eyes disappeared behind his eyelids and the grip on Hank's arm loosened.

The other nine patients ended up being put under until the situation could be better assessed. For the next two and a half hours, Hank and a couple volunteers spent their time in the med bay stitching, bandaging, splinting, popping dislocated joints back into place, and cleaning up. The room emptied shortly after and Hank jotted down the conditions of every patient to report to the large, waiting crowd upstairs.

As the elevator doors opened and he stepped onto the ground floor, a million questions flew his way. The string of incoming questions quickly became a string of incoherent babbling of random syllables.

"HEY!" a loud, commanding voice barked. He immediately recognized it as Wolverine, although he could barely see him.

"Give the furball some space, will ya?" he groaned.

"I think it would be best to go into the rec room, where most of you can sit down." Hank said. The crowd quickly moved to the rec room, anxiously awaiting Hank's news.


	4. Chapter 4: Bad News

**A/N**: For those who might get confused, "Bozo" and "Bozo the blue furball" refer to Hank. They are some of Wolverine's nicknames I devised myself.

Chapter 4: Bad News

(Wolverine)

Wolverine was so stressed out and cranky waiting in the recreation room with half of its occupants under Magneto's spell. His friends were dying below the floor under his feet and he couldn't do anything to help them. His nerves were shot and he was tired and he really needed a cigar ASAP. Bozo the blue furball was standing in the doorway, his mane matted with sweat and blood. The stench alone was enough to make Wolverine go nuts with cigar cravings. Bozo finally cleared his throat, breaking the dead silence of the room.

"I understand that you're all anxious to see your friends, but please let me get through my report about their conditions. I'll try to answer any questions you may have. Now, uh, Wolverine. You were with them. Did they present any warning signs prior to their arrival here?" Hank asked.

"No. They all just…collapsed. Some were having some type of seizure, and some were bleeding, but they all seemed to be fine while we were fighting beforehand." he said.

"Alright. Whatever is wrong with them, it doesn't seem to have any kind of pattern. The infection is targeting the patient's mutation for some, but not others." Hank said.

"What exactly is wrong with them?" Scott asked.

Hank looked over another sheet of paper. "The gold-eyes mutant-"

"His name's Sparky, motherfucker!" someone in back interrupted.

Furball paused, slightly shaking his head in annoyance before continuing. "Sparky was bleeding from his eyes, ears, nose, and mouth. He was having moderate-to-severe muscle spasms, and is currently in a continuous hallucinogenic state. The two red-skinned girls-"

"Rose and Ivy!"

"Stop interrupting the guy!" someone else scolded.

"They're both going through some sort of mutation flare. Thorns are sprouting through every inch of skin, and their blood is turning to sap. We'll need to put them through continuous blood transfusions to keep them alive…Bobby's temperature is plummeting. Now, he can survive extremely frigid conditions, and his temperature is dropping at a rate of five degrees every hour. We don't know how low of a drop his body can sustain, so we'll need to observe him for signs of hypothermia…" Hank paused to take a breath. "Rogue is currently experiencing random nose bleeds, and is in a coma…Pete had to be put into a medically induced coma due to violent outbursts of self-induced pain. He would…he would claw at his arms and neck, claiming he was not in his own skin…Kitty had to be put on a respirator. She is awake, but cannot communicate verbally due to the tube…Now, Pyro, his case is the opposite of Bobby's. His temperature is increasing, but at a slower rate of only three degrees every hour. He's also had some sudden fever spikes where we've had to place ice packs on him, or submerge him in ice water. There has been one instance where he melted the ice in the tub, and caused the water to boil, but we managed through it…And now, I regret to inform you that one of your own, Magneto, has passed away due to complications. She was a red head, very pale skin." Hank said. The room grew quiet, aside from the quiet sobs and groans of despair.

"Is there anything we can do for them?" Storm asked.

"Well, until we know what exactly was done to them, all we can do is try to make them comfortable. I'm sorry." Hanks said.

"When can we see them, Mr. McCoy?" Siryn asked.

'_Shit, that's right. Tin Man's her boyfriend. Christ, the poor kid_.' he thought, feeling the urge for a cigar creep up on him like a ninja. Not that a ninja could sneak up on the Wolverine, Hell no.

"Well, I suppose I could allow a few of you to see your friends. However, at the slightest turn of events, you're all to leave immediately." Hank said. Wolverine couldn't take it anymore and stepped outside, giving in to his monstrous craving with a ghost of a smile.

As he puffed on the cigar, savoring it, Xavier walked out and approached him. It's been weeks, but it still kinda creeped him out whenever he saw the guy walking around.

"I see you still smoke those." Xavier said.

"Yeah." he said, removing the cigar from his mouth.

"I wanted to tell you this before, but I never had an opportunity to do so. Logan, I'm very impressed with how you've been handling things these past couple weeks." Xavier said.

"What, you mean the damn apocalypse? 'Cause yeah, I'm doing great. I've been smoking these like crazy. And when I'm not, I'm either fighting some damn hybrid super soldiers, or I'm giving pep talks. I'm standing here going bonkers with grief, and all I can do is smoke. I hope you're pretty fucking impressed with me. I failed to stop Magneto's army after you…" he suddenly cut off, realizing he was practically yelling. "Scott was gone. You were gone. I was pretty much put in charge of this place. As much as I hated humanity for making a mutant cure, I knew we had to protect them from Magneto. You would've wanted it…but I…I killed Jean. Stabbed her in the gut. And now it turns out the cure doesn't even work! So sure, be proud of me!" he said, feeling tears well up in his eyes. He pinched the bridge of his nose, discretely wiping them away.

"I know how hard things have been for you, Logan. And I don't blame you for anything that has happened. You picked up where I left off. You succeeded where I failed. That's why I'm proud of you. And not only that, you took up teaching, which must have been scary enough." Xavier said. There was a short pause before the two started laughing; softly at first, then louder and harder until their sides ached.

The two returned to the room full of mutants. Wolverine noticed some groups had splintered off into different rooms. The elevator opened and Magneto emerged, cape flapping behind him as he took quick, large strides toward Xavier.

"Charles, we need to speak in private." the ex-enemy-number-one spoke; pitch low enough as to not be overheard by those nearby, except Wolverine, of course. He watched as the two entered a room, where several students were ushered out seconds later. Wolverine stalked into the kitchen, removing a bottle from his hidden supply of beer, and drained the aforementioned bottle in ten seconds. He turned around and saw Magneto and the professor heading towards the elevator.

His ears perked up as he heard several concerned murmurs come from the rec room. He wandered over and froze when his eyes met the TV.

"Scott! Storm! Get in here!" he yelled, eyes glued to the screen. The room became suffocation-inducing full again as the splintered-off-groups joined the teachers that arrived.

"Damn! I thought this was over!" one of Magneto's yelled.

"This'll never be over!" someone else whined. Similar outbursts echoed through the room.

X-Men and Brotherhood alike shivered as chills crept up their spines.


	5. Chapter 5: Answers

**A/N**: for those of you who didn't know, Theresa is Siryn's human name

Chapter 5: Answers

(Xavier)

"_Manhattan's residents are urged to flee_-"

"_Miami is in a state of terror as_-"

"_Sacramento is in ruins after an apparent terrorist attack_-"

"_President has declared this a national threat_-"

"_Similar reports of these apparent blitz attacks have been reported all around the world_-"

"_Fires have ravaged Anchorage, Alaska_-"

"_A local farmer was found dead after reporting several cattle mutilations_-"

"_We ask that you remain indoors_-"

"You can stop, Jones." Xavier said. The student blinked again, and the screen went black.

_It didn't work! It didn't work! It didn't work!_

Every single mind in the room yelled it, screamed it!

"I hope I'm not interrupting…" a timid voice spoke. The entire room turned to face the newcomer.

"Moira? What are you doing here? I told you to rest." he said.

"You sounded like you needed help. Life or death kind of thing." she said.

"Come with me. Hank is observing the afflicted, and he will inform you on their conditions." he said, guiding her to the elevator.

"I hope you don't mind some company." Magneto said, followed by Scott and Logan.

"Not at all…" Moira said, warily eyeing Magneto.

'_Erik's okay_.' he told her telepathically. The group entered the elevator, and Xavier 'overheard' Logan think about how the tension inside the reasonably-sized elevator could be cut with his adamantium claws. The five of them entered the med bay, all of them glad, yet unnerved at how little chaos was occurring.

"Henry, I've brought guests." he said, noticing his friend had found the time to clean up.

"I'm sorry, Theresa, but I'm afraid I need some time with Pete. I'm sorry everyone, but this applies to the rest of you." he announced, waiting patiently for the friends and/or lovers to part with their partners.

"Moira, why don't you confer with Hank. The rest of you can take a seat." he said as he shut the doors behind the last of those who left. Moira went to talk with Hank, but no one sat down.

"Alright then, Logan, I would like to read your mind, if you'll let me. Perhaps you saw or heard something you may have disregarded, but was actually important." he said, motioning towards the empty chairs. Logan plopped into a seat and Xavier held his hands at either side of the sitting mutant's head.

"I believe you know the routine. Don't move, and try to picture the fight your group and the other two participated in." he said, already gaining admittance to some of the memories.

He saw a large steel door get kicked in. The ten mutants of the two captured groups were locked inside claustrophobia-inducing cages, and Logan freed a couple. Then they were all suddenly in a forest, fighting a Monitor that could make clones of itself at will. "_This changes nothing!_" That voice…so confident, and fearless. The fight abruptly stopped and Bobby was yelling in John…Pyro's face. The last things he saw and heard were a couple brief flashes of convulsing Monitors, Pyro yelling; distraught about something, and sixty seven percent of the mutant force screaming in agony and collapsing.

Xavier lowered his hands, letting everything he had just seen and heard soak in.

"Thank you, Logan. I know that wasn't easy for you." he said. Logan gave him a slight nod, holding his head. A small beep announced itself, accompanied by a flashing light on Kitty's vital signs monitor. The same happened to Bobby, and Hank and Moira hurried over to see what was wrong. The beeps turned into an incessant drone as every other monitor started beeping.

"Guys, need your help!" Moira yelled. Scott called Storm over the intercom and each bed-ridden ally started seizing. Xavier went to Rogue's bed, ready to help her.

"They're going through mutation flares! Handle them with care! Magneto, stop! Unless you want to get electrocuted, I suggested you put on the protective gloves in the cabinet. Same applies to the rest of you. Now listen up, grand-mal seizures can last several minutes, so just hold them down until it passes!" Hank ordered.

Xavier quickly put on the gloves and held Rogue down, one hand pressing down on her sternum, while he used his other arm to hold down her thighs. Behind him, Logan had to straddle Pete, pinning each arm down in a firm grip while he practically sat on the student's legs. Rogue's seizure ended and Xavier backed away. Storm arrived and went to help Pyro. Xavier started towards one of the red-skinned girls, but both of their seizures ended at the same time, so he automatically moved on to the next bed. As he helped Erik with Sparky, Scott helped Storm with Pyro. He told Erik to just grab one of Sparky's arms and one leg, while he did the same. Three impossibly long minutes passed before the remaining seizures died off.

The room was silent, save for the whispers, groans, and rhythmic beeps of the heart monitors. Storm backed away from Pyro's bed, hands covering her mouth. Xavier looked around and saw similar reactions among the others. He took Erik's arm and led him away towards the seats where the others were gathering.

"The worst of it seems to have passed for now. We need you to please leave while we ascertain a safe way to proceed." Moira said. He ushered everyone out, abiding to his friends' wishes.

"Logan, I'm sorry if this seems a little blunt but there isn't really an appropriate time to ask this. When I read your mind, right before Pyro collapsed; he was distraught, yelling about something. I couldn't hear exactly what he was saying, but do you remember what made him so agitated?" he asked.

Logan closed his eyes, trying to recall the memory. "I'm sorry, I-I don't…" he trailed off, looking defeated.

"I know we have a lot to deal with in that room," Scott started, pointing at the med bay. "but what about this world-wide Monitor bombing run? There has to be another base to manufacture these things and command them." he continued.

"Or for all we know, there could be bases all over the world." Logan said.

"We need answers. Is Hugh alive, or not?" Erik asked.

…The million dollar question…

Moira stepped outside and the group grew quiet. "They are all stable, for now. Some are awake, if you'd like to ask them some questions." she said.

"Scott, take everyone upstairs." Xavier said.

"Why?" Logan questioned.

"I have to read their minds. To do that, we need to wake them all up. It's going to get loud down here." he said. Everyone stared at him in stunned silence.

"This isn't going to be pleasant, but we need answers, and this is how we do it." he continued.

"What about the guys from my group?" Logan asked.

"I already questioned them after we saw the news. None of them knew if Hugh died in that fight." he said.

"Some of them are in excruciating agony, Professor. You can't put them through more unnecessary pain." Storm said.

"I know. This isn't a walk in the park for me either, but I need you all to go upstairs and please tell everyone that there is nothing to worry about…no matter how loud the screams get." he said, waiting for them to leave. Once they filed into the elevator, he went back into the med bay, where Rogue, Kitty, and Sparky were awake.

"Wow, man, you look just like I feel." Sparky said, seemingly unaware of the crackles of electricity running across his body.

"Professor? How bad is it?" Rogue asked.

"The severity of your conditions has calmed down for the time being, which would explain why some of you are awake." Hank said.

"I understand you all have questions, but I need to read your minds. We need to know everything we can about what was done to you, and about that final fight." he said.

"Read our minds." Kitty repeated.

"Yes." he replied, unsure if she was asking a question.

"Doctor MacTaggert and I will help if any complications may arise." Hank said.

"Okay. We're willing to do whatever it takes to help." Rogue said.

He moved to Kitty's bed first. "Just don't move." he said, closing his eyes.

(Nightcrawler) (Note that as you read Nightcrawler's dialogue the w's should sound like v's)

He and Remy were talking about who killed the most Monitors when the screams began. Wolverine started to drown himself in beer, while Storm and some other teachers led the students to their rooms.

"What are they doing down there?" someone asked.

"I already explained it." Wolverine growled.

"I'm going to take a closer look. They might need some help." Nightcrawler said.

"No. The Professor said he'd take care of it." Wolverine said.

"I just want to help them. We can't lose them all." he said and teleported to the elevator, hitting the 'down' button with his tail.

The screams stopped as the elevator door slid open. As he approached the med bay door, he heard some sort of commotion going on. Footsteps, shouts, groans, and the slamming of cabinet doors were muffled by the door ahead of him. Completely unsure of what to expect, he pushed the door open a crack and stepped inside without being seen. As he closed the door, a hand lightly grabbed his shoulder. He jumped and turned, staring Professor Xavier in the face. He glanced at the beds and saw everything was calm.

"Kurt, what are you doing here?" the professor asked in a calm, yet disconcerting tone.

"Everyone just wants to know what's going on, and I want to help you." Nightcrawler replied.

"I understand and appreciate your concern, but we're almost through here. We just need to wake up a couple more, and then I'll come up and bring you all up to speed." Xavier said.

"Can I do anything to help?" he asked.

"I'm afraid you'll just get in the way, son." said.

"Okay. Sorry to intrude." he said, opening the door.

"Shut the door behind you, please." the professor said, returning to the beds. He did so and returned to the ground floor as a new set of screaming was heard.

"Mon ami, what da professa tell ya?" Gambit asked.

"He said when he finishes, he'll tell us everything." the German replied, heading to the kitchen for a glass of water.


	6. Chapter 6: Summerwind Estate, Base 2

Chapter 6: Summerwind Estate, Base 2

(Trask)

The helicopter son reached the second base, located in some place in Wisconsin he had never heard of. As Hugh was taken to the O.R., Trask talked with the pilot about the previously unknown base.

"That lake out yonder is West Bay Lake, my friend. See those ruins over there? That's the remains of the Summerwind Estate. Surely you've heard of the reported haunting?" the pilot asked. Trask shook his head, glancing at the skeleton-like remains of the house in the distance as they walked.

"You've never heard? Well, shoot! Let me enlighten you." the pilot said as they entered the base. "That mansion was built in 1916 by Robert P. Lamont as a summer home for him and his family. Did you know he served as the Secretary of Commerce under President Hoover? Anyways, one day he fired his pistol at some person he thought was an intruder, but was actually a ghost. Before the place burned down, you could see the bullet holes in the basement door in the kitchen. Once Lamont died, the place was sold." the pilot said, taking a seat. Trask did the same, intrigued in the story.

"In the 1970's there was this family living there. Now see, they only lived there six months before abandoning the place. From day one, the Hinshaw family reported ghostly sightings. Seeing strange shadows, and flickering lights at first, but then they saw an apparition of a woman floating. Windows and doors would reopen on their own, too. When they hired some folks for renovations, none would arrive; as they knew they stories of Summerwind. Did you know they found a human corpse jammed into a hole in the wall of a closet? Once that body was uncovered, the man of the house, Arnold, had a complete mental breakdown and his wife tried to kill herself. When Arnold was sent away for treatment, his wife and kids moved out and she remarried." the pilot continued. Trask kept finding himself looking out at the lake in the distance.

"But then her parents bought the place. Her dad, he knew the place was haunted. Claimed he knew the identity of the ghost, too. When her parents went to the house, she and her brother and husband went along, too. Her parents wanted to turn the place into a restraint, but workers never wanted to stay there. The plan was eventually abandoned and in 1988, the place was struck by lightning and burned to the ground." the pilot finished, swallowing. Trask felt a chill crawl up his spine. Mutants he could handle, but ghosts? He deeply believed in them and they scared the hell out of him.

"Can I ask, uh, why you decided to put a base nest to a haunted, destroyed house?" he asked. The pilot turned to him like he was a moron.

"Keeps most people out. Ain't many neighbors, and it's pretty isolated out here. Any amateur ghost hunters come up here, they spend one night playing hide-and-seek with the dead…then either they leave because they're too scared, or we make 'em leave." the pilot said.

"How do you make them leave?" he asked.

"We got one Monitor here that can make people hallucinate. We've got another that can turn this building invisible, and we've got some telekinetics and such. We can scare the piss outta them kids!" the pilot said, busting a gut laughing.

Trask chuckled nervously. "So they've never actually seen the ghosts?" he asked.

"Eight times out of ten, they get roughed up by the ghosts in the ruins. Sometimes they hear the gunshots from when Lamont shot up his door. We get a kick watching them run away like babies!" the pilot answered, laughing even harder.

"Do the ghosts ever come up here?" Trask asked.

"No one has ever seen a ghost up here, but we've heard 'em. The gunshots, screams, loud voices; sometimes a thick, mysterious fog rolls in on a bright, shiny day." the pilot said.

"Jesus…" he muttered.

"Well, I gotta drop a stinkpickle. See ya around." the man said as he got up, quickly leaving.

'_What revolting terminology!_' he thought, watching the pilot leave.

An hour passed as Trask waited for any news on Hugh. As soon as one of the doctors entered the same general area as him, Trask approached, asking about Hugh's condition.

"He's stable, and awake. Are you Trask?" the doctor asked. Trask nodded and was led into Hugh's room.

"Woah. You look…better." he said as the door slid shut behind him.

"We've got potent medications, highly skilled medical staff, and state-of-the-art technology. No injury is too severe for my men." Hugh replied. Trask looked away from the burn scars across the left side of Hugh's face, only to gaze upon the scarring on his arms.

"I've got scarring on seventy percent of my body. Only areas unaffected are my legs knee-down, the right half of my face, my right ass cheek, half my abs, and my balls." Hugh said.

Trask sat in a chair by the bed. "Listen, Hugh, I'm glad you're alright. I really am…but I don't know if I should continue my partnership with you." he said.

"Excuse me?" Hugh asked.

"I just think it would be best if I discontinue my services here." he said, feeling his chest tighten.

"Trask, you can't duck out. Without your sentinels, I can't make more Monitors." Hugh said, sitting up.

"Well, I don't recall signing on to help you in exchange for nearly getting blown up!" he said.

"You knew as well as I that those vermin would set up a counterstrike!" Hugh spat.

"And what about Operation _Dark Days_? And these other bases? How can you expect me to work with you when you can't even be truthful with me?" he asked.

"What's to stop me from killing you, Trask?" Hugh asked, his demeanor doing a complete one-eighty. The sudden change made Trask freeze.

"What?" he asked.

"I have all your sentinels. Sooner or later, they'll all get transformed into my Monitors…ergo, I have no use for you." Hugh said.

"Now hold on a minute." he said, standing up.

"I don't think I will." Hugh said, mimicking Trask's move.

"You can't be serious, Hugh. You can't kill me. You need me!" he yelled, starting to fear for his safety.

"Not anymore." Hugh said, smirking. Trask tried to swallow the lump that was growing in his throat.

'_Great. You did it now, Trask. You just couldn't keep your mouth shut. It's gotten you into some deep trouble before!_' he thought angrily.

"I'll be sure to tell my supporters about your involvement. I really couldn't have done this without you." Hugh said, placing a hand on Trask's shoulder.

"Aw, man. I knew it. I knew it was only a matter of time before you lost it! You need help, Hugh." he said, brushing the hand away. He noticed a strange look come over Hugh's face; his eyes in particular.

"I don't need help. Least of all from you." Hugh said, his voice taking on a sinister tone.

Trask's eyes grew in sync with his fear. "What are you-"

One of Hugh's hands grasped his throat, squeezing hard enough to cut off his airways. Trask uselessly tried to pry the scarred hand from his throat.

"I'm finished with you." Hugh said, squeezing harder.

Trask's vision became a dark shade of gray, speckled with black spots. In a final, panic-driven attempt to fill his lungs with air, he thrust his knee into Hugh's crotch. What should have been his ticket for life became a sudden death. Hugh didn't even flinch at the impact, and with a flick of his wrist, snapped Trask's neck.

A/N: To read more about the story of Summerwind, please visit . Also, the ruins of Summerwind are located on private property today. Any paranormal investigators, amateur or professional, _**must**_ request permission before an investigation can be made.


	7. Chapter 7: Tensions Flare

Chapter 7: Tensions Flare

(Mystique)

When the screams finally stopped, and Xavier and the human stepped out of the elevator, Mystique knew they had information to share that was more than just medical babble. The room that was just seconds ago a loud, cranky-feeling space quickly quieted upon seeing two of the three 'professional doctors'.

"I understand you all have questions, and that you all want an explanation as to why I deemed it necessary to put everyone through the harsh mental torture. I want you to know that because I read their minds, I now know what was done to them, and why the attacks are still happening." Xavier said. Mystique felt a small wave of relief cleanse her body.

"When Charles is finished, we will allow visitors to come to the med bay. Bobby and…Pyro are the only ones still unconscious. Everyone else, however, is very eager to see their friends." the human said.

"Thank you, Moira. While our friends were imprisoned, they were all injected with a substance. In a moment of consciousness, Sparky confided this information to Magneto. However, to prove his lucidity, I had to read everyone else's minds. To do that, I had to wake them. And now that I did, I know they were injected with something we've never seen, and more than that: Mr. Jerection, the man behind this war, survived our attack." Xavier said.

"That must've been what set Pyro off before he collapsed…How could I be so stupid?! He kept yelling on and on about how he killed him. We all thought he was talking about Craig." Wolverine said.

"When I read his mind, I saw Pyro burn Hugh alive. He was so sure he killed him." Xavier said.

"If he created da virus or whatever he injected into dem, maybe dere's some sort of antidote or someting." Gambit suggested.

"I highly doubt that." Mystique said, feeling the uneasiness return.

"Were they all injected with the same thing?" Storm asked.

"They all had a different syringe, but each one was filled with the same black ooze." Xavier said.

"Professor, is there a way we can find out wherever this man is now located?" Nightcrawler asked, referring to Hugh.

"We're working on a process now. Storm, Scott, Logan, I need you to come with me." Xavier said, leading them away.

"The rest of you can come with me. I'm sure your friends are wondering where we are." Moira said.

After three elevator rides down, Mystique was finally able to get into the elevator. She and her own little faction of mutants soon arrived on the sublevel where the med bay was, and joined the crowd in the middle of the hallway. Only five were allowed into the med bay at a time, so the room wouldn't get overly crowded, and attain a lower level of stress and anxiety for the patients.

Patients…Mystique didn't like that term.

Once the final shuttle-full of mutants came down, the first handful of mutants were allowed access to their friends. Everyone waited for their turn to go inside and visit…it was almost civilized down there. Each group was given ten minutes in the room so everybody could get a chance to go in.

When Mystique's turn finally came around, she was ushered in alongside two of Xavier's students, Toad, and Magneto.

'_Well, this is just great_.' she thought, entering the room.

She watched Magneto immediately go to the far left, towards his "brothers". Toad spotted Pyro and the two walked over, all the while Mystique wishing he was awake. Everyone around the room was talking, laughing even. Some were even talking to Pyro's friend, Bobby, as if he was awake.

She spotted the pair of gloves on the counter by the bed and put them on. If she was going to hold his hand, she surely didn't want to get burned; and feeling the amount of heat radiating rom his body, she knew that getting burned was in very real likelihood.

"He'll make it through this." Toad said.

"Yeah. He will." she replied, scanning the vitals monitor. His temperature increased another degree.

Before anyone even knew it, the ten minutes ran out, and they had to return to the ground floor.

"Hey, he could've been in worse shape." Toad said, trying to sound reassuring.

"I know. He could've been dead. Can't get much worse than that." she said. The two sat down on the floor in a corner, able to observe the whole room. She then spotted the last person on earth she wanted to talk to come forward, sitting on a nearby chair.

"What do you want, Magneto?" she groaned.

"I was expecting some more harsh, venom-filled attempts at degradation." Magneto replied.

"Not in the mood." Mystique sighed.

"Good. I didn't want to be interrupted by your petty insults." he said.

"I'll ask again, Erik. What do you want?" she asked, saying the last part slowly.

"I want to know the reason why you and your little posse decided it would be a good idea to decide not to return to my army, and don't say it's because of Pyro, because it isn't." he declared.

"You're right. Pyro wasn't the reason I left you, Erik. _You_ were. We've all been abandoned by _you_. After Liberty Island, when I helped you escape your little plastic cell, you never once asked about Toad or Sabretooth. I had no idea where they were, either, but that small action showed that you don't care about the ones that, in your eyes, failed you. Then, that day on the mobile prison. I understand why you left me. I understood, but I didn't agree. When you asked me to rejoin you when my ability came back, I was so…overjoyed. I thought I'd be able to put that little disappointing memory behind me. And when you asked about Pyro, my heart skipped a beat. I knew he was with Juggernaut, and when I went to their little shack to propose the idea, well, you should know how that went. Juggernaut told me about Alcatraz; how you fled to save your own skin instead of trying to save your fallen 'brothers'. Toad, is there anything you'd like to add?" she asked.

"Nope, you pretty much got it all." he said.

"So, does that answer your question?" she asked. Magneto was quiet for a minute, then cleared his throat.

"This has given me some insight, and some answers. However, my offer still stands. Once the Monitor ordeal has passed, if you all still feel you're better off, then I will leave you be." he said, heading to the other side of the room.

"Yeah, of course you will!" Mystique yelled after him, she and Toad rising to their feet. Magneto turned, looking at them curiously.

"You left us before. What's to stop you from leaving us again?" she asked. Another group of five entered the rec room, one of which was Cyclops.

"What's…going on?" one of the Brotherhood asked. Cyclops quickly stepped between Magneto and Mystique, holding out an arm to the two opposing sides.

"Guys…care to explain what this is about?" he asked.

"Ask this pompous prick!" Mystique spat, half smiling as she saw a crazy glare come across the old man's eyes.

"How dare you! I took you both in when no one else would. You should be thanking me!" he roared.

"Come on, now, you just need to calm down." Cyclops said.

"I'll calm down when this little band of renegades treats me with a little respect!" Magneto said.

"Not even when Hell freezes over!" she said.

"You've developed quite a little temper, Mystique. You've been spending a little too much time with young, and arrogant Pyro." Magneto said, stepping forward.

"Yeah, well he's better company than you ever were!" Toad blurted. Several 'oohs' traveled through the crowd of spectators. Cyclops got in Magneto's face, calmly, but firmly telling him to back off. Magneto kept glancing at his former comrades and turned away.

"Now you," Cyclops began, turning to Toad and Mystique. "Do you have any idea how close you were to starting a fight? We can't live like this. You need to put your differences behind you." he said.

"Fine." Mystique said, imitating his voice. Cyclops looked down and realized he had grabbed her arm.

Five more mutants would come into the rec room every ten minutes like clockwork, all talking about their friends and wiping away tears. Sabretooth and Juggernaut arrived in the latest group, immediately finding the remainder of their team. The four of them sat in silence…waiting, watching. Toad soon dozed off and Juggernaut left to get something to eat. Seconds later, Hank arrived and Mystique immediately knew he had bad news. As if to confirm this, the last couple groups that were waiting downstairs filed into the room silently.

"I hate to tell you all this, but I have some bad news. Rose and Ivy have both passed away." Hank said, looking down. A few muffle cries of despair were heard amongst a handful of the Brotherhood.

"Unfortunately, there's more. This thing that was injected into them, it seems to be evolving. It's causing damage faster than we can keep up with. I'm afraid there isn't a whole lot more we can do. Unless we have a miracle, most of them will be dead in a couple days. Others have a fighting chance at a week, at most. I'm sorry." he said.

"But they were fine not even half an hour ago!" a student cried.

"I'm sorry, son." Hank replied.

"There's gotta be something we can do!" another student said. Hank shook his head doubtfully.

"I believe there is one thing we can try." Xavier said, walking to Hank's side.

"What is it? We'll do anything!" a reptilian mutant said. A chorus of 'yeahs' emerged from the rec room.

"We need to capture a Monitor. Alive." he said.


	8. Chapter 8: Here we go again

Chapter 8: Here we go again…

(Gambit)

"So, tell me again, mon ami. Why does da Professor want us to capture one of dem Monitors alive?" he asked, strapping himself into one of the seats on the jet.

"Hopefully, the Professor can read its mind and find out the location of Hugh's other base." Cyclops said, prepping the jet.

His German friend fastened the straps in the set next to him, and he handed the blue guy his staff.

"So we just gonna go lookin' for dem? Remy not scared, but Remy not likin' dis plan so much." he said.

"Relax, we're only sending a small squad of us to go after a small squad of them. They're a challenge, but breakable." Wolverine said, sliding into the copilot seat. Gambit looked around at the not-even-half-full cabin. The team consisted of Wolverine, Cyclops, Nightcrawler, himself, and a lizard-like mutant called Char.

The jet rose up from the basketball court and took off, gaining speed.

"Here we go again." he said.

As they were coasting the sky for mutant-killing robots, Gambit shuffled his cards. Whether it was out of boredom, habit, fear, or all of the above, he couldn't tell.

_Shuffleshuffle…shuffleshuffle…shuffleshuffle…shuffle_-

"I swear to god, you shuffle those again, I'll climb out of this seat and shove those cards down your throat. Jesus, that's worse than Pyro and his lighter!" Wolverine growled, clearly annoyed.

"ooh. Sah-ree!" he said, pocketing the cards.

"Scans show a cluster of Monitors about one-fourth of a mile due North." Cyclops said, lowering the jet.

"Good landing, Scott." Wolverine said and the jet lightly, perfectly landed in the field.

"Let's move." Cyclops said, and everyone abandoned the jet. Cyclops pressed a button and the jet vanished, cloaking.

"Dat is still _so_ cool!" Gambit said, following the already leaving group.

By the time they arrived at the destination on Cyclops' little bracelet radar, the Monitors were already leaving. Cyclops immediately shot one down and the remaining four turned around in unison, firing darts and missiles. Cyclops and Char quickly took out the missiles, but dozens of darts rained down in a huge blanket. Everyone tried to evade the darts as well as attack the enemy. Gambit saw Char fall to the ground, reptilian features disappearing. He charged up three cars, throwing them like a ninja throws a shuriken. The Monitor they collided with exploded, globs of black ooze raining down like heavily polluted rain. The three Monitors landed, and one of them waved a hand, dissolving the cure darts. Gambit and Cyclops took out the ones on the ends, leaving the middle one unharmed.

"Remember, we need to take it in alive!" Wolverine yelled. Char rejoined the fight, back to his normal self. The Monitor twitched and started glowing white.

"Was (what?)" Nightcrawler uttered.

The Monitor fell to its knees, making this electrical humming sound.

"It's gonna blow!" Char yelled, running for a safe distance to duck and cover. Nightcrawler teleported by Char, and Gambit and the others hauled ass to get away. They waited to hear the tell-tale _KABOOM_, but the air was silent. They looked back and saw the Monitor was simply face-down on the ground. Nightcrawler teleported over, slowly flipping the Monitor over with Gambit's staff as the others ran to the location. They all examined the Monitor, curious about what happened.

"I think it's dead. Yeah, yeah, it's totally dead." Char said. At that moment, the Monitor opened its eyes.

Everyone except for Wolverine yelped and fell back. As Gambit stood, taking his staff from Nightcrawler, Wolverine stabbed some exposed flesh with a syringe.

"Come on, let's get this guy locked up before it wakes up." Cyclops said, he and Char helping Wolverine carry the bulky hybrid. The Monitor was still out when they reached the jet and strapped it down in the back. When they returned to the mansion, the Monitor was beginning to regain consciousness. Wolverine sedated it again and everyone helped carry it out of the jet. Nightcrawler teleported away and returned with the Professor.

"Where do you want us to take it?" Wolverine asked.

"I've already prepared a room. Follow me." the Professor said. Everyone followed the Professor, carrying the Monitor to the room known as the Danger Room.

"Set it on the table, please. And strap it in." the Professor requested. The Monitor was promptly shackled in place on the table.

"Now what?" Gambit asked.

"I'm going to see if I can access any of its memories, but if I can't, I'll try again when it wakes up." the Professor replied. Gambit fingered his pack of cards as they waited to see if the Professor was getting any success or not. Wrinkles appeared on the mind reader's forehead as he concentrated. He started shaking and was violently thrown backwards by an invisible shockwave.

(Hugh)

As he looked at Trask's lifeless body, he felt a strange surge pulse through his body. His Lieutenant, Troy, came into the room, barely glancing at the body.

"The procedure was successful, sir. Not only were we able to reverse ninety percent of the damage caused by the fire, but as you requested, we started Operation _Dark Days_ by infusing your DNA with that of the Monitors you selected." Troy said.

"I can tell." Hugh said.

"Would you like us to dispose of the body?" Troy asked.

"No. I have a better idea for Trask. Turn him." he said.

"Into a Monitor?" Troy asked.

"Duh." he said.

"It wouldn't work. He's dead." Troy said.

"Have a Monitor resurrect him…Go on, let's do this now. Call, um, 31242. She's a healer." he said. After a couple minutes, the Monitor arrived, obediently stepping into the room.

"Heal Trask, then take him to the preparation chamber. I'll be waiting for you there." Hugh said, he and Troy leaving the room.

"Are you operating functionally, sir?" Troy asked as they turned a corner. Hugh grabbed a door handle and broke it off, not breaking his stride the slightest.

"Does that answer your question?" he asked.

"Yes, sir." Troy replied. The two entered the preparation chamber, soon followed by 31242 and a struggling, confused, very much alive, Trask.

"I said I was finished with you, Trask. I wasn't lying. You're going to become my first, and possibly only, human/Sentinel Monitor." he said. Trask was silent for a while, still coming to terms about being brought back from the dead. "I'm finished with you, as a business partner. If everything goes well, you will be elevated to a superior being. More superior than you ever dreamed." he said, producing a scalpel; which he handed to Troy.

"Wh…what? You're turning me?" Trask asked.

Troy led Trask away and Hugh dismissed 31242, heading to the observation window. Soon the begging and screaming began, and Hugh couldn't be happier. He found himself smiling as the screams changed from fear to pain; and when they stopped as the application of the Sentinel armor and arsenal began, Hugh was laughing, anxious and excited to see how Trask's transformation would turn out.

Once the process was over, the new and improved Trask was taken out of the room and led directly to Hugh.

"Vitals were green across the board." Troy said.

"Excellent. He's in perfect condition." he said, marveling his former partner's appearance. "Send him out with Zulu squad. I want to know how he performs." he ordered, already forming a mental connection to the members of Zulu squad.

"These are your brothers, Trask. You fight with them to the death. Welcome to the team…Your number, your identification, is 59214." he said.

"Zulu squad, head out for bogey capture." Troy commanded, speaking into his COMM radio. 50214 left and joined the group of Monitors known as Zulu squad.

Hugh's own upgrade was proving to be more valuable than he could ever hope for. He was able to see everything the Monitors could see, due to the mental connection. All he needed to do was concentrate on an ID number, and the link was made. He was currently focusing on Trask, 50214, who was firing missiles at a group of mutants in a field. There were only three members of Zulu squad left, the number suddenly going down to one: Trask. Through Trask's eyes, Hugh could see five mutants, including Wolverine and Cyclops.

"Damn! 50214, why are you just standing there? Open fire!" Hugh said. The Monitor was just standing still, refusing to move.

"I said open fire! Now!" he yelled. His mind flashed with an intense pain as the Monitor suddenly convulsed and collapsed.

"I'll be damned. He's trying to override the system…foolish." he said. The connection was abruptly lost and Hugh was blind, in a figurative sense.

"Shit." he muttered, storming out of the room.

Nearly an hour later, while Hugh was getting something to drink, the connection to 50214 reappeared. He could see a man looming over the Monitor, eyes closed with concentration. Hugh watched the scenario curiously, trying to piece together what had happened, what was happening, and what was going to happen. All of a sudden, he recognized the bald man: one of the mutants that raided his first base.

"I know what you're up to, mind reader. It won't work. You won't get anything from Trask's memories, so go ahead and try it! Two can play at this game!" he said, trying to mentally sever the connection between 50214 and the mind reader. He knew he was getting close as baldy was having difficulty hanging on; he was concentrating harder and harder.

"I will not allow you to get me this time! I'm more prepared." Hugh sneered. He felt a massive surge of mental energy and the connection was lost again.


	9. Chapter 9: the Sixth Sense

A/N: this was probably my favorite chapter to write!

Chapter 9: The Sixth Sense

(Sparky)

"So Sparky, how ya feeling?"

He groggily woke up, waiting for his eyes to focus in the glare of the luminescent lights on the ceiling.

"Magneto? That you?" he asked, rubbing his eyes.

" 'Friad not." the voice said.

"Oh, you've gotta be shitting me. Multiple Man, I'm sorry about what happened to you, but you've got to leave me alone. There's nothing more I can say."

"But I want you to meet some of my friends." Multiple Man said, suddenly holding the ailing mutant's head still.

Sparky was wide awake now. "Someone! Help!" he yelled.

"Everyone knows about your mental state, Sparky. No one can see us but you. There's no help for you." Multiple Man said.

"Just leave me alone!" Sparky growled.

"Not until you meet the countless others who died because of Magneto; his stupid war. I can't believe I joined him…Sure, he got me out of prison, and it was good for a while. Then I met you. You weren't tethered to someone's genocidal views like I was." Multiple Man said.

"But I joined him, Mult. You went back to him." he said.

"Big mistake. I was foolish. My friends over there can vouch for that." Multiple Man said, nodding towards the front door. Sparky didn't want to, but he looked towards the door…

There was a group of figures huddled together, and he couldn't tell much more than that. He looked away and the group was by the wall.

"Why are you doing this, Mult?" he asked.

"Me? I'm not the one who shot you full of that mystery drug. I'm not doing anything to you besides revealing the truth about your leader." Multiple Man said.

"I don't give a shit what he did in the past." he said.

"He got us killed. Every single one of us." someone by the wall said.

"Whether he was directly responsible or not." someone else chimed in.

"It was Magneto's fault."

"He pushed his views onto us!"

"And we believed him"

"He's responsible!"

"Our blood is on his hands."

"The bastard was responsible for everything!"

"We all went into the fight thinking we were gonna be heroes."

"Didn't care about us."

"He sacrificed us. Sent us to our deaths like lambs to the slaughter."

"Ooh. I liked that one. Come on over here, sweet heart. Let's hear your story." Multiple Man said. The woman appeared by the bed, her body covered in electrical scars.

"Name's Callisto. Magneto's war got me killed. Went one-on-one with the weather bitch. She did this to me." she said, referring to the scars. "_She_ fried me, but going into Magneto's crusade, that's what got me killed. _He_ is the reason I'm dead." she concluded.

"Thank you, Callisto. Who wants to go next?" Multiple Man asked. In a nanosecond, the dead all surrounded Sparky, tugging and pulling at him.

"Look at them! Look at what was done to us!" Multiple Man yelled. Sparky's eyes apparently felt like disobeying his mind as he scanned each and every figure. Scars, bruises, deep gashes, and impalements were just some of the various wounds he observed.

"Look at them all!" Multiple Man snarled. Numerous hands kept reaching out at Sparky, tugging at him.

"Stop. Leave me alone…LEAVE ME ALONE!" he yelled.

The pulling stopped and the figures vanished; even Multiple Ma was gone.

He sighed, running a hand through his hair.

"They're right, you know." a voice said.

His eyes snapped open, a look of confusion coming over his face as he saw Pyro. "You? You're not dead." was all he could manage to say. The hallucination looked over to his unconscious doppelgänger, who was shaking a little.

"Not yet." Pyro said, taking a couple steps towards Sparky.

"Alright, let's hear it. Tell me about all the horrible shit Magneto did to you. That's all the other's would talk about." he said.

"I'm not sharing that with you. What I will say though, is that Magneto deserves to dir. All he does is start wars that get anyone near him killed. Callisto, Arclight, Quill, Psylocke, Phoenix, Ash, Phat, and countless more. Hell, even my old professor, his best friend, was killed." Pyro said.

"He came back." Sparky replied.

"That was just luck. Sparky, I know we've had our differences, but you need to trust me. Magneto's a bad guy. The next time you see him, you need to kill him. I'd do it myself, but…" Pyro nodded towards his corporeal self.

"I can't. He got me out of that prison hellhole." Sparky said.

"You'd be doing mutant kind a big favor. You have to end him. Electrocute him, strangle him, hell, you could do both with your little flare-up." Pyro said. Sparky held up a hand, skin tingling with electricity.

"I would have killed the old prick myself if I had the chance. Instead, I'm relinquishing the proverbial throne to you. Given your circumstances-"

"Hallucinations?" Sparky interrupted.

"Yeah. It's a good thing because you're awake. If I was up and about, I'd be glad to do the job. I'd go up there right this minute and kill him, but I'm not waking up any time soon." Pyro said.

"I can't kill him. Why don't you guys get that? I owe him." Sparky said.

"You owe him? That's rich. You don't owe him anything. You think Mystique owes him for abandoning her? Or that Toad owes him for being treated like garbage? If you think any of us owe him for shoving his views down our throats, then you aren't as ready as I thought you were." Pyro said, vanishing. Sparky rubbed his eyes and looked around. No one was around to torment him for the time being. He decided he might be able to get an hour-long nap in before Multiple Man or someone else decided to show. He closed his eyes, trying to doze off.

He felt a shadow looming over the bed, interrupting his dozing off process. "Jesus Christ, can't you guys give me a minute to myself?" he asked, opening his eyes. He felt his chest tighten and goose bumps appeared all over his body. Pyro reappeared beside the Monitor that was staring at Sparky.

"You probably don't recognize our buddy Multiple Man here, do ya?" Pyro taunted, grinning menacingly.

(Siryn)

She was talking with some of her friends, all of whom were reassuring her that Pete would be okay, and she was insisting that she was fine and that she knew he would be fine. All of the teachers were in Professor Xavier's office, devising a plan to kill the bad guy and save the day. The elevator door opened and Dr. McCoy and Dr. MacTaggert emerged. Their watch shift was finally over. She wasted no time getting her butt out of the seat and over to the doctors.

"Excuse me, doctors? Can I go see Pete now? I want to-" her request was cut short as a blood-curdling scream pierced the air.

"Med bay!" the doctors yelled in unison, running to the elevator. Siryn followed the doctors, and was followed by the teachers and some older students and the other mutants and Brotherhood. Siryn was in the first elevator ride down, along with the doctors, Professor Logan, and Professor Summers. When they burst into the med bay, they stopped in their tracks, Siryn bumping into Professor Logan. They were temporarily frozen as they watched the scene unfolding before them.

"LET GO!" the electrified mutant screamed, being pushed into the wall by an invisible force. Professor Summers was the first to break free, running to the patient's aid. Professor Logan followed suit immediately, followed by the doctors as another group of students entered the room.

"Get them out of here!" Professor Logan roared. Doctor MacTaggert started to shepherd Siryn and the students away. She was helped by Miss Munroe and Professor Worthington. The students and 'younger' students were soon a clog in the hall. Screams and shouts could be heard, even through the thick walls and door. Those who weren't able to get insid kept asking what had happened. Something was knocked over in the sealed off room, glass shattering and a loud _**bang**_ being the indicators of such. Some students hurried into the elevator, unable to stand the insanity-inducing cries of pain and terror.

Something large collided with the door, denting it to the point of almost snapping in half. Several more students fled to the upper level, but Siryn stayed put…she backed away, but she stood her ground.

"_STOP IT! GET OFF OF ME!_"

The words were muffled, but unmistakable.

"What the hell is going on in there?" someone asked. Siryn didn't respond, eyes glued to the newly deformed door. She slowly realized she was crying. '_Why are you crying? Stop it, Siryn. Pete is okay. He and Rogue and Bobby and Kitty were fine. Stop crying for that electric douchebag_.' her mind ordered.

A bolt of lightning zapped through the door, separating Siryn from the others as they fled via the elevator. She decided to sneak a peek through the gaping maw in the door. The first thing she noticed was te empty beds. Her eyes moved to the fighting mutants and she noticed that everyone who was recently dead was fighting with a teacher or other mutant. Punches were thrown, kicks were planted, powers were used. In the midst of this chaos, Siryn did the only thing she could. She screamed.


	10. Chapter 10: An Unprecedented Situation

Chapter 10: An Unprecedented Situation

(Angel)

His blood ran cold when that one scream erupted from the med lab and struck his eardrum through the floor. His coworkers sprinted out of the room and were halfway down the hall when his legs started to work. By the time he got to the med bay, whatshisname…uh, Sparky, was sliding up the wall, screaming in fear.

"Get them out of here!" Wolverine yelled.

He helped Storm and the doctor usher the students out, and as he shut the door, Sparky was pinned to the ceiling, struggling against an invisible foe. Angel slipped on a pair of gloves and fluttered up to the ceiling as Nightcrawler teleported beside Sparky, clinging to the tiles with ease.

He and Nightcrawler shared a look, which was interrupted as Sparky's struggles quieted and he stilled. The electrokinetic fell into Angel's arms and he glided back to the floor.

"What do you suppose happened?" Storm asked, a little shaken. He gently placed Sparky in the bed and Hank gave him a once-over, checking the basics.

"Whatever Hugh injected into him made him have some sort of psychic fit." Hank said.

"That was one _hell_ of a psychic fit." Cyclops said. Angel noticed movement coming from one of the beds. He knew it was impossible; that mutant was dead. He glanced at those around him and realized that they noticed the movement, too. Hank backed away curiously as the three deceased Brotherhood members returned from the grave and sat up in their beds.

"What da-" Gambit started, but the red head at the farthest bed, waving a hand. A file cabinet and a centrifuge clattered noisily to the ground. Sparky bolted up, eyes wide.

"Oh fuck!" he exclaimed, backing into a corner. The red-skinned girls got out of their beds and Sparky reacted by shooting a bolt of lightning, which the telekinetic deflected into Wolverine, who was thrown into the door forcefully enough to dent it severely. The patients who were still unconscious remained so as Wolverine and Cyclops went into fight mode, taking on the telekinetic. The others went up against the Red Twins.

Hank tried to inject a sedative into the closest of the Red Twins, but she backhanded him hard enough to knock him flat on his ass. Gambit whacked her in the face with his staff, barely coercing a reaction from her. Angel punched the other one in the face…a bad idea. Thorns stabbed the entirety of his knuckles and he withdrew his hand, cursing under his breath. Sparky fired another bolt of superheated lightning, which Angel had to dodge. It was sent wildly off course, smashing through the door. The unmistakable sound of Wolverine's claws unsheathing was heard and a mini-war was born. Things were whipping around every which way, vines sprouted from the floor, mini explosions boomed from exploding cards, and fist fights broke out! After nearly a solid minute of bobbing and weaving between attacks, a shrill, piercing, incapacitating screech filled the room.

He fell to his knees, hands covering his ears in a futile attempt to block out the screeching. The walking dead mutants collapsed and the shrieking stopped. Angel stood on wobbling legs, cautiously taking his hands away from his ears.

"What da hell was dat?" Gambit asked.

"Siryn." Wolverine grumbled. Everyone turned around to face the student that single-handedly incapacitated the threat.

"They're still alive." Hank said, checking the downed-mutants' pulses.

"Lock 'em up with the Monitor." Wolverine advised. Angel helped Doctor MacTaggert drag/carry the telekinetic. They followed Storm and Cyclops, who were dragging one of the red-skinned girls, into a room he personally had never been in before. Xavier was sitting in a chair, observing the sedated Monitor.

"Gonna need you to open the cage, Professor." Cyclops said. Angel watched as the cage door was opened and the red girls were dumped onto the floor. After he and the doc put the red head into the cage, the door was shut, secured, and bolted.

"We're not sure what happened, Professor." Angel said

"Unfortunately, I am. The drug that was administered to them, we thought its purpose was to kill. However, I was able to tap into this Monitor's memories, and-" the professor was cut off…

"Memories? No, no way. Hugh said Monitors didn't have the memories of their mutant half." Sparky interrupted, leaning against the door frame to support himself.

Hank appeared in the door way, placing a hand on the wall. "I told you, you must get back in bed. You need rest." Hank said.

"I'll rest when this nightmare is over!" Sparky said, stepping into the room.

"It's alright, Henry, he can stay…As I was explaining before, I gained access to the Monitor's memories," he turned to Sparky, "because he's human, and I learned that this substance given to you and the other was experimental. It goes through a process of stages. There are five: Administration, Infection, Death, Resurrection, and…Turning." the professor concluded.

"Turning?" Storm repeated.

"Yes. They'll become Monitors." he said.

(Cyclops)

The room was silent.

"You sayin' dat da three of dem are gonna become _dat_?" Gambit asked, pointing to the caged Monitor.

"Those three will, yes. Once they die, there is no turning back." Xavier said.

"So, me and the rest, we still got time?" Sparky asked.

"Not a lot." Hank said.

"Well, you have to do something!" Sparky insisted.

"Tell me, Sparky, what do you want us to do? We don't know how many bases Hugh has, we don't know if there's a way to stop this, and half the world is getting decimated by these damned Monitors!" Scott shouted.

"Well, I don't wanna die and become _that_," Sparky said, pointing to the Monitor, "so you all better do something fast!" he spat, stomping down the hall. Hank and Moira shared an 'oh-boy' look and left.

"He's not wrong, you know." Angel said, breaking the uncomfortable pause. Everyone looked at him. "I mean, maybe we can get a location out of the Monitor. We can go there, and see if we can put an end to this." he continued.

"Are you sure that's a good idea? I'm not trying to seem cowadish, but the last time we did something like that, we suffered some pretty steep casualties." Scott said.

"We can go in better prepared, not split into groups this time. We go in there as one wave, full force, and we can get Hugh. We can do this." Storm said.

"Well then, I better get in there." Xavier said, unlocking the cage.

"Woah, woah. You can't go in dere. If dey wake up, you'll be screwed." Gambit warned.

"Which is why Nightcrawler will stay here. If one of the transitioning mutants come around, he can grab a sedative and pop in." Xavier responded calmly, stepping inside the cage and shutting the door. Everyone quickly left, except Nightcrawler, of course.

"Are you sure attacking the base is a wise decision, Storm? I'm not trying to sound like a dick, but I don't want to…we can't lose anybody else, okay?" Scott asked as they walked down the hall.

"I understand, Scott. I'm just as concerned as you are, but we can't just wait it out." Storm replied.

"Do you think maybe-" Angel started, but shouting was heard coming from the med bay.

"Oh great, now what?" Scott asked, sprinting down the hall. He arrived at the open door, only getting halfway into the room before the scene hit him and caused him to abruptly stop.

Hank and Moira were reaching over Kitty, who was currently intangible. Her heart monitor showed no trace of a beating heart. Hank was clutching a defibrillator in each hand, but they were useless as they kept passing through Kitty's chest.

"Come on, Katherine. Give me one second of solidity…" Hank breathed. The drone of the heart rate monitor echoed loudly in his ears; he barely noticed the others behind him.

"Come on, Kitty!" Hank yelled, hands shaking.

"No…" Storm whispered, backing away.

Moira placed a hand on Hank's trembling form, looking at the clock. "Time of death…7:05 p.m."


	11. Chapter 11: Mourning and Waging War

Chapter 11: Mourning and Waging War

(Storm)

"_Excuse me, Miss Munroe?" a timid voice asked. She looked over at the door and saw Kitty peeking through the door…literally. Only her head was visible._

"_Come on in, Kitty." she said, putting some papers into a folder._

"_You wanted to see me." Kitty said, sitting down._

"_Yes. We've noticed how much you've been invested in both your academic and extracurricular activities. Your Danger Room sessions have given us some valuable insight into an important decision we've made. We'd like you to join the X-Men." she said._

_Kitty's eyes sparkled and an enormous grin appeared on the student's face._

"_Really? Oh my god!" Kitty exclaimed, obviously thrilled._

"_I'll tell Xavier the good news." Storm said, quickly smothered by a hug._

"_I'm so honored. Thank you, Miss Munroe," Kitty sniffed, holding back tears of joy._

Storm volunteered to break the news to everyone on the ground floor. Many students didn't take the news too well.

She spent the next hour in her office, thinking about Kitty, crying, and crying some more. She cried until she could cry no more. There was a knock on the door and Wolverine stepped inside. Most likely, he had heard her crying.

"You doin' okay?" he asked.

"Not really." she answered, crumpling a Kleenex and tossing it into her garbage can, which was already half full of crumpled up Kleenex tissues. She studied his face and saw that he, too, had been crying.

"You know…I was the one who offered Kitty a place on the team." she said.

"When I first saw her trying on her suit, I couldn't believe she was the new member. She always seemed so shy and…geeky in class." Wolverine said, looking away in thought.

"She completely came out of her shell that day. Rogue and Bobby were so excited she made the team…" she trailed off, eyes filling with tears. "Oh God, they don't even know she's dead." she choked, dabbing away her tears. Wolverine came closer and placed a comforting hand on her shoulder.

'_You've come out of your shell too, Logan_.' she thought. The door to Storm's office was gently pushed open and Scott stepped inside.

"The Professor's got a location." he said.

Storm and Logan looked at each other and left the office, following Scott down to the sub level.

The sight of Kitty's body lying peacefully in the cage amongst the Monitor and transitioning mutants was a heartbreaking one. The three Brotherhood mutants, although sedated, were already forming Monitor body armor. The actual Monitor was awake, but unmoving.

Magneto and Hank came into the room, and the door closed. It was amazing how many bodies could fit inside the room. Storm counted fourteen besides the ones in the cage.

"I understand that this is a time for mourning. Kitty, she was a terrific student, a giving friend, and a loyal comrade. In the midst of this tragic death, I have found hope. I now know where Hugh and his followers are, and we can get there in one hour and fifteen minutes." Xavier announced. If one of their friends hadn't just died, the room would've been full of cheer.

"So, where are dey?" Gambit asked.

"West Bay Lake, Wisconsin." the professor responded.

"Alright, let's go." Wolverine said.

"No." the professor said, calmly yet sternly. "We're all running off of coffee and energy drinks. None of us have had a wink of sleep in the past thirty-six hours. Our…guests here are all under a cocktail of drugs. All I ask is that we all have a good, well-rested sleep. At least a full night's worth. Now, come on, everyone out." he said as he ushered everyone out of the room.

(Magneto)

He explained the situation to his Brotherhood over by the main entrance of the school; he didn't want anybody eavesdropping on him when he added a tiny little tidbit: he lied to his followers and denied the accusations that Rose, Ivy, and Gwendolyn were becoming the enemy. When he brought up the concern for sleep, the group was less than thrilled about sleeping on the floor. Storm and Xavier came by with a couple pillows and blankets, apologizing that they didn't have enough for everyone.

As he laid his head against one of the pillows, trying to get comfortable on the hard floor, he heard several snores travel through the school; some were from his nearby companions, while others came from the lounge. One of the rhythmic snores was recognizably Sabretooth's…his snores could wake the dead. Worse, they were keeping him awake and he wanted to sleep. He was drowsy and tired and exhausted, but he decided to go talk to Sparky and maybe fall asleep in a much more comfortable med bay chair.

When he stepped out of the elevator, he saw that the med bay door was removed. He went inside the room and saw the two doctors asleep in the observation room.

"What are you doing down here?"

Magneto nearly jumped out of his skin, and lightly chuckled as he looked towards the beds.

"You shouldn't startle a man as old as I." he said, wearily sitting by Sparky's bed. He couldn't help but feel a sense of remorse for Kitty, even though he barely knew her, as he glanced at the newest addition to the collection of empty beds.

"I'll ask again, boss. What are you doing down here?" Sparky repeated.

"I came to talk. Is that a crime?" he asked sarcastically.

"No…I'm sorry, I'm just tired." Sparky answered.

"Can't sleep either? I guess we've got that in common." he said. Sparky looked away, as if listening to someone whispering in his ear.

"Sparky, is…is Multiple Man still around?" he asked.

"Yeah, but it's not just him anymore." Sparky said, sounding…scared? "I've been seeing a bunch of dead guys from your previous Brotherhood…and…and I'm not sure how, but I've been seeing Pyro, too." Sparky said. Magneto glanced at Pyro, almost expecting him to be awake.

"Are they all telling the truth about Alcatraz? Were you responsible for their deaths?" Sparky asked.

"Absolutely not! I didn't kill any of them, I would never!" he said, irked at the accusation.

Sparky sat up, looking him in the eye. "I think you should go before I do something I'll regret. They're screaming at me to kill you right now, and I'm half tempted to do it just to make them stop. Get out of here." Sparky said, covering his ears.

Magneto stood, slowly backing away. He turned and practically ran to the elevator, trying to shake the feeling of being watched.

(Xavier)

He was awake and out of bed by six A.M. He always was a morning person, and today was no exception. When he went into the kitchen, he made sure not to wake the many students and guests who were still fast asleep. He quietly made a cup of tea (as oxymoronic as that sounds), said 'hello' to a sleepy Sabretooth that wandered into the kitchen, and went into his office, where he proceeded to drink the tea.

As he drank, he thought about the stressful events that were soon to come: waking the large number of crabby, non-morning-people mutants…going over the strategies of how to deal with Hugh's new base…figuring out who was going to help Moira and Hank with the patients and sedating the caged mutants…prepping the jet and squeezing everyone inside it…and of course, the actual assault on the base.

A knock on the door stirred him from his thoughts.

"Come in." he said, setting the drink down. He was a little surprised to see Erik step into the room and shut the door with trepidation. Judging by the look on his old friend's face, he didn't need to read the man's mind to tell that something was wrong.

"You don't even have to read my mind to see something's wrong, do you?" Erik asked, giving a small, weak smile. He waited for the old friend to compose himself.

"I'm worried about Sparky." he finally said.

"At the rate his condition is moving along, I don't see why you wouldn't be. He's-" Xavier started.

"No, no. Charles, listen to me. I think he might hurt himself." Erik said.

"Moira and Hank haven't noticed any suicidal actions." he said.

"Last night, he almost gave into his delusions' wishes to kill me. He's at the end of his rope, Charles. He doesn't want to kill me, so I'm afraid he'll do the next closest thing." Erik said.

"I'll tell Hank that they should keep an eye on him." he said.

"Thank you, old friend." Erik said, sighing in relief.

He could still see that something was troubling the man. "What else is bothering you?" he asked, making eye contact.

"I think Pyro is faking." Erik replied hesitantly.


	12. Chapter 12: Pointing Fingers

Chapter 12: Pointing Fingers

(Juggernaut)

He hadn't the slightest clue as to why he, Mystique, Toad, and Sabretooth were more or less dragged into the students' head honcho's office. To make matters worse, his former head honcho was in the same room. The four of them were hen forced to listen to the frenemies' cockamamie theory that his apparent de facto leader was faking his entire ordeal.

"And you're taking the word of some hallucinating convict over your own doctors?" Mystique asked.

"We're having Pyro's vitals re-checked and compared to those who are still unconscious. If they seem unnatural, or there is a possibility he's actually conscious, we'll deal with it then." Xavier said.

"Pyro wouldn't be faking." Juggernaut said.

"Yeah, he wouldn't. Why would he? What does he get out of it? Nothing." Toad agreed.

"Regardless of his status, we can't be too sure it's him, or what his motives are." Magneto said.

"Well how do we know Sparky isn't the one faking?" Juggernaut asked.

"You can't fake hemorrhaging of the facial orifices. Plus, he's experienced a…reliable mutation flare." Xavier explained.

"Reliable?" Juggernaut repeated.

"All of the mutation flares we've seen have been either painful to its user, or have somehow elevated the user's own abilities." Xavier said.

"Well then how come you're not questioning Bobby? His abilities don't have the limitations that Pyro's do." Mystique said.

"He, too, was hemorrhaging when he was brought here." Xavier said.

"Well, who else was besides Sparky and Bobby?" Juggernaut asked.

"Kitty, Rogue, and the three Brotherhood members." Xavier said.

"o the big guy could be faking it all too?" Juggernaut asked,

"…I suppose." Xavier replied. "But I read their minds. All of them. They were all given the same black liquid." he added quickly.

"Well, how do we know anyone is faking? Just because a guy hallucinates a person that's alive when he usually see dead people doesn't mean shit." Juggernaut said.

"He's got a point." Toad added.

"They could be right, Erik. It may be nothing." Xavier said, turning to Juggernaut and the others. "However, if there is a possible threat down in the med bay, we need to investigate. If Pyro is faking, there must be a season as to why." he added.

That's how the six of them, plus Wolverine and a couple of X-comrades ended up in the med bay. The situation was explained to everyone once they all arrived.

"We'll question all of them, starting with Pyro. We are not going to assume anything anybody may have implied about anyone here." Xavier said, glancing at Sparky. "Alright, Hank, wake Pyro." he said. The tension in the room grew as Hank inserted a syringe into Pyro's I.V. and pushed down on the plunger.

"What is that stuff?" Juggernaut asked quietly. Mystique opened her mouth to answer, but was interrupted as Pyro woke with a start. The poor kid had beads of sweat clinging to his skin and he was hyperventilating. Hank held an oxygen mask to Pyro's face, who flinched away at first. Once the mask was secure, Hank stepped away towards the doctor. As Xavier stepped over to Pyro's bed, Juggernaut noticed Sparky watching Pyro's every move.

"Pyro?" Xavier asked.

Pyro brought his knees up to his chest and squeezed his eyes shut, as if holding back tears.

"Pyro? Can you hear me?" Xavier asked. A soft moan was barely heard as Pyro clenched a fistful of blanket.

"John, do you know where you are?" Xavier asked. Pyro's nod was barely noticeable…but what was noticeable was how warm the room was becoming.

"I…can't." Pyro said, his voice barely above a whisper.

"What's that, John?" Xavier asked.

"Control." Pyro said, voice muffled as he cradled his head on his knees.

"Control what?" Xavier asked. The room suddenly felt like a sauna, and Juggernaut noticed the liquid in Pyro's I.V. bag start to boil.

"I killed Craig. Thought I killed _him_. I thought if I could kill him, then this wouldn't be happening." Pyro said, a little louder. Juggernaut noticed a couple of the occupants slip out into the hall, whereas others simply sat down.

"How are we supposed to know if he's faking?" Magneto asked.

Pyro looked up, eyes filled with hate. "If I weren't near death, you'd be slowly roasting alive." Pyro said, removing the oxygen mask.

"Pyro, I need you to calm down. I need to ask you some questions." Xavier said. The room cooled down as Pyro's face cleared.

"Ask away. It's not like I'm dying or anything." he said, casually resting his head on his knees. Juggernaut couldn't help but shiver as a chill traveled through his body. He knew something was wrong with Pyro. The way the kid's demeanor did a complete 180 was just too weird and unsettling. Something was definitely wrong.

(Pyro)

Pain. Intense pain. It would flash throughout his body in an instant and disappear just as quickly.

"Ask away. It's not like I'm dying or anything." he said in response to the professor's request. He knew it was only a matter of time before he would become one of Hugh's victim's.

"If I can just say something first, Professor?" he asked quickly.

"As long as you don't threaten me again." Magneto said.

Pyro glanced at Magneto, snarling, then looked back at the Professor.

"Go ahead" the Professor said.

"Do you think I'm a fucking idiot?" he asked. The Professor looked confused. "You all think I'm a great big phony because I, like Pete, wasn't bleeding from the eyes or experiencing some kind of power upgrade. Right?" he asked. Xavier was speechless.

"Well, that's because we were given a different strain than the others. Hugh, he just picked the two of us. Don't know why. Maybe we set his rocks off, I really don't know. Me and Pete, we've been waking up at random intervals even if we've been put under." he said.

"Why would he give you two a different drug?" Wolverine asked.

"Because he's a psychotic douchebag, I don't know!" he snapped.

"Don't trust him…" Sparky said.

Pyro rolled his eyes and turned to look at the other patient.

"Will you shut the hell up, man?" he said.

"Don't believe a word he says! I know why I've been hallucinating him now. That's not Pyro!" Sparky said, clearly disturbed.

"I thought I told you to shut up!" Pyro yelled, baffling everyone as his apparent outburst caused Sparky to start choking.

"Let him go." Xavier warned. Against his will, something inside of him forced him to stop killing Sparky. Pyro looked at Xavier, feeling like himself again.

"Professor…there's something…evil." he said, feeling out of breath. "It's inside us."

"This whole thing could just be an act. I say we lock him and Colossus up with the Monitors." Wolverine said.

"No! He wants that." Pyro said.

"He? Who, John?" Xavier asked.

"Hugh." he said, putting the oxygen mask back on.

"Why didn't he give everyone the same drug?" Xavier asked.

"He's been watching all of us…for years…I guess he…_liked_ Pete and I or something." he said, breathing deeply.

"This whole thing could still be an act." Wolverine grumbled.

"Yeah, I'm just…faking this entire…thing, Wolverine. I've got a…psychotic alternative personality…created by the evil psychopath…that's killed hundreds of us…enslaved thousands to do his bidding…I'm still me." Pyro said.

"With split personality. Last time we dealt with someone who had that issue, it didn't turn out so well for her." Wolverine said.

"Well I'm not her…my issue, and Pete's…can be reversed…Hell, you can save Iceman…and Rogue and Sparky." he said.

"There's an antidote?" the professor asked. Pyro nodded.

"How do you know that?" Xavier asked.

"Same way I know…about the handful…of Monitors in the back room…and about West Bay Lake." he said.

"This other personality, it's connected to Hugh?" Cyclops asked.

"Yeah." he answered.

"And it's connected to the Monitors?" Cyclops asked.

"No. Hugh is." he said. The room was quickly evacuated except for the doctors and patients.


	13. Chapter 13: To War

Chapter 13: To War

(Cyclops)

"What da heck was he talkin about?" Gambit asked, speaking everyone's minds.

"I'm with the Cajun on this one. I don't think we should trust the kid on this. I mean, split personality is one thing, but claiming there's some miracle antidote?" Wolverine asked.

"I think we should trust him." Scott said.

"Yes, we should. I could sense he was telling the truth when he told us about the antidote." Xavier said.

"Well maybe you sensed right, but he said he's connected to Hugh. For all we know, _he_ could be pulling the strings and we'll be walking into a trap." Wolverine said. No one responded right away.

"Regardless of Pyro's allegiances, if there's a chance the five of them can be saved, I say we go for it." he said.

"He's right. It's time to end this war." Magneto said.

In an almost de-ja-vu-like sense, X-Men and Brotherhood loaded up into the jet, with the obvious exceptions of the students, doctors, and patients. When they neared West Bay Lake, Storm activated the stealth mode.

"Now remember, we're going at this differently this time around. No small groups. We go in, we fight, and we keep fighting until we beat them. We may not get another chance to find Hugh if he escapes, so we need to detain him and any employees of his we find. Once we clear the base of Monitors, we'll question Hugh and his employees to find the antidote." he said.

There were several nods in agreement, but no cheers. Everyone was going into the fight bent on revenge for a friend, so no one was in a cheering-kind-of-mood.

Storm and Logan landed the jet close to the lake, the former becoming devoid of occupants as the twenty-five mutants headed towards the opposite end of the lake, where a light mist was rolling in. As if adding to the creepiness, they arrived at the ruins of a building. Crumbled columns of wood and stone poked through the earth like a zombie's fingers.

They could see Hugh's base in the distance, and as they continued forward, Monitors began to file out of the building. The mutants stopped their approach as the Monitors stood a foot away from each other, forming a line that spanned the length of the building.

"So much for the element of surprise." he muttered. The mutant group marched forward, every step bringing them closer to battle. The Monitors remained still like statues, waiting for the moment to strike. The gap between the opposing forces grew smaller with every step, and just as he adjusted his visor to fire an optic blast, the devil himself stepped outside.

(Sabretooth)

He wasn't near the front of the group, but that didn't stop him from gaining an understanding of the situation up ahead. He simply pushed others out of his way to get a better look. A man had stepped past the defensive line of Monitors, and judging by the way he carried himself, Sabretooth assumed that man was Hugh. The man started clapping and he saw some of the other mutants give each other confused looks.

"I must say, I'm genuinely surprised at how long it took you to find me." Hugh said. The group was silent and Hugh lightly touched his left temple. "Mr. Xavier, are you trying to get into my mind? Such a childish move." he said, pacing in front of the Monitors.

"I thought the publicity of the Monitor attacks on mutant populations would have led you here sooner. I guess you all aren't as smart as you think you are." Hugh continued.

Xavier stepped forward, a daring move.

"Mr. Jerection, as I'm sure you know, we didn't come here to talk." the leader of the X-Men said.

"I'm aware of that." Hugh replied, holding a hand out.

Sabretooth felt himself tense up, along with everyone else near him. Hugh's fingers folded onto his palm, and when they reopened, a glowing orb was floating just above the skin of his hand. It flew forward, disappearing and reappearing as its light faded and glowed. Many mutants in its path frantically tried to avoid it, but one unlucky bastard, a reptilian mutant, was just half a second too slow. Said mutant was able to get most of his body out of the trajectory of the orb. However, his shoulder was run though. The mutant spun a little and grabbed his bloodied shoulder.

The yellow orb vanished in the fog, and the wounded mutant started to laugh.

"What the hell was that? Pixie dust? It's gonna take more than some fairy jizz to bring me down!" the mutant yelled. Sabretooth noticed the orb emerge from the fog, moving almost too fast for even _his_ eyes. Before he could try to warn the lizard guy, the orb lodged itself into the mutant's head. A couple gasps were heard, and the mutant remained standing in some sort of frozen death pose. A high-pitched whine was heard and those closest to the dead mutant scrambled away moments before his head exploded.

(Gambit)

When Lizard Boy's head exploded, it was as if a switch flipped in everyone's mind. The mutants charged, the Monitors aimed a variety of weapons, and Hugh created more yellow orbs. Gambit gave his staff to Nightcrawler and charged up some cards, throwing them at a slight angle to the incoming orbs. He frowned in disappointment as only one of the four cards collided with its target.

He turned to fight an easier target: the many Monitors flying and fighting around the base. Nightcrawler teleported beside him, grabbed his wrist, and teleported away just in time to avoid one of the pesky yellow orbs. After a nod in thanks, he returned to flinging cards at nearby Monitors. It seemed as if all the Monitors in a certain mile radius were flocking to the base, probably due to the mental connection they had to Hugh.

He noticed a group of mutants slip in through the front entrance of the base. He darted forward to join them, but tripped. Looking at his ankle, he saw a vine tightly wrapped around it. As he tried to free himself, he saw two Monitors standing before him. His stomach dropped as he noticed unarmored patches of res skin which were riddled with protruding thorns.

He chuckled nervously. "Ladies, can't we work dis out like civilized adults?" he asked, slowly raising his hands up to show he wasn't a threat. Three more vines sprouted from the ground, pinning his remaining limbs. He frantically looked around for assistance, surveying the losing battle around him. Many mutants were taking cover; hiding from the Monitors' relentless bombardments of missiles, cure darts, flames, stun bolts, and the mutant abilities they possessed. He glumly realized how helpless he was, and he hated it. The two Monitors loomed over him, their flamethrowers beginning to glow as the super-heated flames jetted out.


	14. Chapter 14: Never Surrender

Chapter 14: Never Surrender

(Toad)

Along with Sabretooth, and a couple of Brotherhood mutants, Toad snuck into the base without Hugh noticing. The group of six stealthily searched the base for an antidote to save the five patients back at the school/mansion.

"I feel kinda bad leaving Mystique out there." Toad said, breaking the search-induced silence.

"She can handle herself." Sabretooth's quiet, yet fierce voice responded.

"Will you guys shut up? You'll give away our position." the gray-skinned mutant ahead of them scolded. Sabretooth growled; a sound that still sent a shiver up his spine. The group cautiously searched room after room, finding no Monitors, no employees, and no antidote.

"Does this place seem too empty to anyone else?" Toad whispered.

Just then, the group whirled around as they heard a noise come from behind them. They were face-to-face with a terrified man in a lab coat.

"Don't hurt me!" the man pleaded, hiding his face behind his hands.

"Who are you?" one of the mutants asked.

"I work here, but please don't kill me!" the man begged.

"What do you know about the antidote?" another mutant asked.

"Antidote? There is no antidote. Not in the tr-traditional sense." the man said.

"We'll settle for the no-traditional sense. If we like what you tell us, you get to live." Sabretooth said. The man's Adam's apple bobbed as he swallowed.

"There's no medicine or-or chemical to save your friends." the man said.

"I'm not liking what I'm hearing." the gray mutant said.

"No, wait! Please! I do know of a satisfying way to save your friends. This place, this is not what I signed on for!" the man blubbered.

"Cut to the chase." a mutant snapped.

"If your friends are still alive, and they h-haven't succumbed to the virus, they can be saved. If you sever the connection between Mr. Jerection and the afflicted, you'll essentially stop the spread of the virus. Once you uh, once you do that, you'll need to use Rheopherisis, a blood filtration procedure, to filter out the virus from the blood. They'll be fine afterwards." the man said.

"If you're lying-" Toad started to say.

"I'm not!" the man insisted.

"How do you stop the Monitors?" the gray mutant asked. The man swallowed, looking from Toad to the mutant.

(Juggernaut)

He and Mystique were currently taking refuge behind a concrete bunker, trying to catch their breath as explosions shook the ground. Screams of agony could be heard among the deafening blasts of explosives and fire. As he peered over the wall, he saw two Monitors flying above the base, like they were circling the roof.

He also saw the Cajun mutant in trouble, and devised a plan with Mystique to save him. On the count of three, they charged at the Monitors and he bulldozed through them with ease. After smashing their heads in to make sure they were dead, he returned to the Cajun and Mystique.

"Much obliged for the assist." the saved mutant said. Mystique nodded and a group of mutants exited the base. Among them were Toad and Sabretooth.

"You guys are not gonna believe this, but we can save Pyro and the others." Toad said.

"What? How?" Juggernaut asked.

"If we kill Hugh, the Monitors will die and the virus will stop!" Toad replied. The group looked around for Hugh and spotted him around the back of the base, fighting with a…Monitor?

The group of eight hurried over to the strange sight.

"Damn you, Trask! You're a disgrace to humanity!" Hugh yelled, using a force field to shield himself from a continuous stream of fire from the Monitor's flamethrower. The Cajun expertly flung two cards at Hugh's back, but they were deflected.

"Huh…Never give up, eh, mon ami." he said, shrugging. The group advanced, and the two circling Monitors up above stopped the mutants' march as they fired cure darts from the sky. Juggernaut felt the sensation of a needle prick in his arm and he collapsed to his knees, feeling a depressing feeling of weakness wash over him. He saw Sabretooth, Toad, and the three Brotherhood mutants also go down.

The cured mutants scrambled away to safety, waiting for their powers to return. Mystique went down as several stun bolts shocked her into unconsciousness. The apparently 'good' Monitor shot down one of the other Monitors with a missile and Hugh seized the opportunity. He spun around and waved a hand, causing the Cajun to suddenly move in slow motion. Before the 'good' Monitor could re-focus on Hugh, the bastard created a Katar out of thin air and thrust it into the Monitor's neck, moving extremely fast.

Juggernaut felt his strength returning and a mutant to his right generated a blade-like shard of rock from his wrist and threw it at the last hovering Monitor above them. The rock went through armor, skin, muscle, and bone, exiting through the hybrid's back. The dead enemy crashed to the ground and Hugh turned to attack them. Juggernaut glanced over at Mystique, still unconscious, and the Cajun, still moving in slow motion. Seriously, he only moved a foot and a half closer to Hugh, who ignored the non-threatening mutant. As Hugh advanced, the mutants prepared to fight him. The rock-skinned mutant was about to throw another rock shard when half a missile suddenly crashed through the psycho's gut. The 'good' Monitor collapsed in unison with Hugh, who clutched at the bloody missile as if it were his own intestines.

The remaining Monitors simultaneously died. Some exploded, some simply collapsed, and some froze in place, like a deactivated robot toy.

The Cajun was released from his psychic hold or whatever and Sabretooth was able to get Mystique to wake up. Some far-away cheers were heard and those nearest to Hugh approached his blood-spattered, mangled body. Mystique spat on his corpse and everybody soon gathered around the body of the psychotic, mutant hating nut job.

When the news about saving the remaining patients was revealed, everyone was understandably eager to get back to the mansion, but not before the second base was wiped off the face of the Earth, and Hugh's remains and the Monitors were likewise vaporized.

The flight back, albeit long, was full of cheer and high hopes. The mini-apocalypse was finally over, the infected would soon be saved…everyone was feeling better than they had in weeks, even with the mutant corpses in the back of the jet entering rigor mortis.

By the time the jet lowered into its 'parking spot', everyone was on pins-and-needles. The blue teleporter vanished to tell the doctors then news while everyone unloaded the dead. A Brotherhood mutant teleported the Brotherhood corpses away. Magneto wanted to stay and keep an eye on Sparky, but Xavier explained that the filtration process would take at least four hours, so the Brotherhood leader left when the teleporter returned to honor their dead.

(Troy)

He witnessed Hugh's death from the base. As much as he wanted to remain loyal to the man, he knew that continuing the fight now would be as useful as wearing underwear on your head.

The panic room he was in was filled to max capacity, full of scared lab technicians, and medical personnel, and security guards trying to put on a brave face. Troy turned off the security cameras and closed his eyes, Hugh's last words to him ringing clearly in his ears.

"_If they manage to get past me, Lieutenant, you'll be in charge. It'll be up to you to continue my legacy. Never give up, Troy_."

"Never give up, never surrender." he whispered as he reopened his eyes. He fingered his sidearm and turned to the remnants of Hugh's employees, shaking his head as a non-verbal way of telling them about Hugh's death. Some groans and whines of despair and fear were heard from the cowering men and women.

He knew what he had to do. In one swift move, he removed his firearm and squeezed off four rounds, hitting each security guard in the chest. He approached their twitching, choking, dying bodies and fired a bullet into their heads.

He holstered his gun and picked up one of the automatic rifle, ignoring the screams from behind him. He turned around and shut up the room like the O.K. Corral. When he ran out of ammo, he looked at the carnage he had single-handedly caused. He tossed the rifle away and it clattered loudly on the floor. He took out his sidearm again, sliding to the floor in a sitting position.

"Your legacy dies with you, Mr. Jerection." he said, putting the barrel of the gun against his right temple. He took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and pulled the trigger of his gun one final time.


	15. Chapter 15: In Memoriam

Chapter 15: In Memoriam

A/N: Here it is: my final chapter! And just so you know, the title is Latin for 'in memory of'

**Brotherhood**

(Magneto)

Standing before the mass grave, looking at the dozen or so bodies piled up in the hole, Magneto was aware of the fact that he wasn't able to do this with the last two Brotherhoods. Granted, the members of his first Brotherhood were all still alive, but at the time of his incarceration, he hadn't the slightest idea of their well-being. The outcome of his second Brotherhood didn't fare any better. Multiple Man was imprisoned, Mystique was cured, Jean's body was taken back to the school, but that was understandable. Pyro was taken out by his former best friend, and he thought the boy was dead. The rest of his second Brotherhood was vaporized by Jean, and if any of them made it out, they never contacted him.

"My Brotherhood," he spoke, looking up from the mass grave. "I lied to you before about the fates of Rose, Ivy, and Gwendolyn. They were in fact turned into Monitors. But what I said, I said to protect you. To protect them! Know now that that was the only time I lied to you. But what is done is done…I killed Gwendolyn myself, freeing her from her cursed fates. I was later informed that Rose and Ivy were also killed in the battle, before Hugh's death. We are all still alive because these brave mutants, all of them, put their loyalty to this Brotherhood above their own lives. As I list off their names, please do them the honor of giving thanks in prayer or thought." he paused, glancing at the visible patches of Monitor armor in the grave.

"Multiple Man…Rumble…Cloak (invisible mutant killed in chapter 3 by tentacle Monitor)…Levi (levitating mutant killed in chapter 3 by bladed mutant)…Lagoon (hydrokinetic killed in chapter 3 after tentacle Monitor exploded)…Photon (killed in chapter 3 after base exploded)…Blazer (killed in chapter 3 after base exploded)…Atom (killed in chapter 3 after base exploded)…Rose…Ivy…Gwendolyn…Strike (captured with Multiple Man and turned into a Monitor, not seen in story)…Arsenal (captured with Multiple Man and turned into a Monitor, not seen in story)…Char…"

He sighed, wishing the casualties weren't so drastic. "I've just received word that Sparky has pulled through. When I return with him, we'll bury the dead. Shadow, will you mind coming with me?" he asked, looking towards the teleporter. Shadow closed his eyes and the two of them appeared in the med bay of the school.

Sparky looked good as new and he was eager to get the boy back home. Bobby and Rogue were also looking better and the two were holding hands. Colossus and Pyro were still undergoing the blood filtration. Magneto explained the situation waiting for Sparky back at the base and he requested a minute alone with Magneto. Shadow walked over to the used-to-be-door and Sparky told Magneto about how his hallucinations, and how they changed his views about the Brotherhood.

"I can honestly tell you; from here on out, the Brotherhood will never be the same, Sparky. Now, if you wish to stick with your choice and not come back, I'll respect your decision." Magneto said.

"Leave? Boss, I never said I'd leave. I merely suggested we change our motives and not go looking for a new war…a least for a while." Sparky said, smirking as he climbed out of bed. The two looked over to Shadow and they reappeared at the base.

After Sparky had a moment alone at the grave, everyone pitched in and took turns throwing shovel-fulls of dirt onto the bodies. Sparky was given a warm welcome after the burial was finished, and Magneto felt good. Better than he had in the longest time. He actually relished the idea of not fixating on a new fight, and instead, possibly living a new life in the isolation with his new…ah hell, he'll say it. His new family.

**X-Men**

(Bobby)

"Are you ready?" Rogue asked. Bobby was fixated on his reflection, adjusting his tie. "Yeah, I guess." he said, taking hold of Rogue's gloved hand.

"The funeral's about to start." she said, leading him outside. They sat beside Pete and Theresa (Siryn), staring at the rows of coffins. Some were open, while others were closed to keep the mangled remains hidden. Professor Xavier started the service with a strong, yet moving speech and bid farewell to the students whose lives were lost. Then one by one, the other teachers (even Logan) tearfully said their goodbyes.

Rogue stepped up to the empty podium, saying her final farewells to Kitty, and told Craig that she knew he wouldn't have gone through with his brainwashed-induced idea to kill her. When she returned to her seat, Bobby went up and said his final words to his dead friends. It was especially hard to say goodbye to Kitty, and the others whose coffins were closed. Some of his buddies had open coffins…only some. A handful, if that.

Before he sat down, he saw Nightcrawler and Gambit in the seated crowd, not at all surprised that they had stayed. After everyone who wanted to say something spoke, the caskets were closed and lowered into their holes. Many students placed flowers on the caskets and tearfully went back into the school. Hand-in-hand, Bobby and Rogue started to go back inside, but stopped when they saw Pyro and the ex-Brotherhood standing at the edge of the yard.

The couple approached their friend's group, which started leaving.

"Wait." Rogue said. Pyro turned around, hands in his pockets. "I, uh, I never got to thank you for…for saving my life." she said.

"I…" Pyro stopped to clear his throat. "I couldn't let you get killed by a cheetah." he said.

"Yeah, I would've preferred to get mauled by a puppy." she said. A small smile came to Bobby's face as he saw one appear on John's.

'_Yeah, John. He's John. He's back_.' he thought.

"So, uh, go you guys want to come inside?" he asked.

"I don't think-" John started.

"Nonsense. You're more than welcome." Storm announced, approaching the group with Scott.

"Even them?" John asked, thumbing behind him.

"Only if they promise to be on their best behavior." Storm said.

"We all talked it over with Logan and Xavier and the others. As long as you all don't go around robbing banks and killing people, you can stay. We'll need the extra hands for the new students coming in next year." Scott said.

John turned to the renegades, as if asking for their approval. Mystique smiled and the group went back towards the school.

"So what'll happen to Ms. MacTaggert?" Rogue asked.

"She'll stay and help Hank out. We may need an extra doctor around now anyways." Scott explained.

"And Gambit and Kurt…Nightcrawler…are gonna stick around as well." Storm chimed in. Rogue laid her head on Bobby's shoulder, smiling. He glanced over to John, who seemed happy to be back.

Things were looking up despite the sadness of the funeral. Bobby was overjoyed to get his old roommate back, despite his temporary allegiance to Magneto. He could already imagine John quickly joining the X-Men team, and he could probably extend an olive branch to the reformed Brotherhood gang.

For once in a really long time, things look rather bright.

A/N: Thank you all for reading my little series. I hope it wasn't too confusing for anyone. Reviews are appreciated, as they are my inspiration to keep going…even bad reviews.


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